feet

BARE ALL BAREFOOT PART 2: PLANT YOUR ROOTS, “PLANT(AR) FASCIA”

BARE ALL BAREFOOT PART 2: PLANT YOUR ROOTS, “PLANT(AR) FASCIA”

Sarah Jamieson / Thoughts / , , / 0 Comment

Barefoot running is not a new phenomenon.
It has historically been performed since the dawn of time, out of necessity rather than for recreation. Primitive man and early cultures existed without shoes and survived without the benefit of footwear. In fact, it has been common throughout history all over the world — but in the face of ever-increasing science and technology pumped into shoes, it has risen to popularity as a natural means of exercise.

In the last article we began to debate the pros and cons of barefoot running, and what frequently comes up is a very important consideration and this simple, and quite frankly, general rule of thumb – it depends on the what and why.
The movement has gained a strong following through some scientists’ beliefs that barefoot running can actually improve health in the feet, knees and hips while reducing the rate of common injuries like plantar fasciitis. I have no doubt that this is true for many; however, there are always risk factors, proper adaptations and progressions to consider, and asking the right questions – what activities do I engage in? will this improve my overall performance and health? When and where would barefoot running be implemented and when, what periodized progressions.

In my own personal athletic sphere; I find training in the gym when lifting kettlebells and performing yoga – barefoot is key to my success. I have not yet ventured to the realms of the trails or pounding of the pavement yet, but I will. Now, how about work?  My ultimate goal is to become a Vancouver Police Officer and I can say that without a doubt, barefoot options will not happen here, for 3 key factors (1) public safety hazard, huge risk factors (2) your boots are your protection, if a perp is on the ground, you don’t dive in “hands first,” and your feet are the closest piece of your body to someone on the ground – safety first. (3) long shifts and uncontrolled terrain, you never know where the day or night will take you. My point is that if you are considering barefoot options; you need to consider all spheres of your life and implement as such, with proper implementation.

The Mechanics of the Foot:

Running barefoot allows the mechanics of the foot to operate as it is designed, without restriction and it also connects the runner to the terrain, mother earth. Running barefoot forces the runner to use the foot pads on the balls of the feet when striking the ground rather than touching down with the heel, which can increase the shock absorbed by your legs and feet. A common injury seen in runners and endurance athletes is plantar fascitis.

Plantar fasciitis occurs when the thick band of tissue running across the bottom of the foot, becomes inflamed. Your foot is the foundation, the roots to everything else that sits above. Made up of bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments, our feet and hands house the majority of our bone structure.

The plantar fascia is a relatively inflexible, strong, fibrous band on the bottom of the foot that supports the arch of your foot. Beginning at the heel bone, the plantar fascia extends the length of your foot to connect with your toes at the ball of the foot and is an integral part of the superficial back line, one of our many fascia meridians.

 

Superficial Back Line

Insert anatomy 101 here: The Superficial Back Line :

Plantar Fascia > Gastronemius > Hamstrings > Sacrotuberous ligament > Thoracolumbarfascia > Erector Spinae > Nuchal Ligament > scalp fascia ( to “occipital ridge and beyond” well… to the brow bone anyways)

When we walk, weight is distributed across your feet. Any imbalances in the mechanics of the foot and distribution of weight can potentially cause compensation that can lead to injury. When we look at a dissection of this line we can see that the plantar fascia is continuous, covering and transvering around and to the heel and the Achilles tendon upwards through the calves, hamstring, deep fascia of the sacrum and lumbar, even interacting with the sciatic nerve. This begs the question – is what some call “plantar facitis” really the issue, if you experience back pain – that could be the point of origin of breakdown, or perhaps a very poor score on your ASLR (active straight leg raise) – perhaps it’s your hamstrings that are the “bain of the pain”  and not your feet. My point, is there are many things to consider here.

Many proponents of barefoot running and it cannot be jumped into quickly. Let’s look at the shoes for a moment – they allow the foot muscles to relax and exist underdeveloped. And they cushion from impact. Additionally, the bones in the foot and lower body are not accustomed to the stress of barefoot running. When you are starting out, note this.

 

The Superficial Back Line & The Hamstrings:

I find that clients and runners, who exhibit plantar fascia inflammation, also have had calf strains and tight hamstrings, or too much tone in the muscle tissue itself. As humanoids are initial response to pain is to fix and treat the pain referral point – but, remember, it’s all connected and the pain isn’t always the source of the breakdown. Moving on up the leg, try a simple multi-segmental flexion drill and trigger point to release to see if this improves the mechanics of the foot, superficial line and ASLR.

During multi-segmental flexion (toe touch) the primary line that we are asking to be lengthened is the Superficial Back Line and we know that this basically stems from the plantar fascia at the bottom of the foot all the way up to the scalp.  This teaches sensory awareness, as well as teaches relaxation of the tension in the back and superficial line and how to shift the body weight from heels to the toes in a smooth and consistent fashion.

Step One: Soft Tssue Rolling – use a tennis ball (or better yet a foot roller) and roll on the bottoms of the feet (the plantar fascia) for approximately 60sec per foot

Step Two: Toe Touch Progression (I like to start the client off with heels elevated slightly on the half foam first; which is more passive, then work up to toes elevated on the foam and a towel in between the knees for proper tracking of the knee and trunk engagement). Arms extended over head, again NO hyperextension and ensuring the client does not hyperextend the lower back upon returning from flexed position.

If the client has lower back pain or any back related injury (herniated discs, back surgery etc); then flexion you want to stay away from and extension patterning should also be considered with ANY flexion patterning  – it’s all about creating balance.

Dysfunction in motor control tends to be one of the most common causes for altered neuromuscular stabilization of the pelvis and hips and this transfers to our feet. Considering, the psoas and hip flexor group interact with flexion (point of origin of the psoas is lower lumbar, hence it will pull on the back and compress at the hip in flexion of the toe touch progression, you can modify this by performing another movement pattern – the supine  ASLR passive and active leg lowering progression.

Step one: use the foot roller or tennis ball to roll the plantar fascia.

Step Two: ASLR Passive Leg Progression and then moving to the second progression (using a hurdle or door frame). For more information on these progressions you can find a great breakdown in Gray Cook’s book “Athletic Body in Balance” or more for you clinical coaches, Gray’s  book “Movemet” looks at more the SMFA approach.

In any case, always retest and see if there is an immediate improvement in visceral pain of the plantar fascia and improved range of motion in the superficial back line. Some instantly feel release and can be able to touch their toes.

Next week we take a peek at the Barefoot Training and the neuromuscular adaptations and benefits of rooting through your feet in strength and conditioning.

 

Sources:

Dissection of the Lines “Anatomy Trains” – http://www.anatomytrains.com/uploads/rich_media/ATDiss-1.pdf

Gray Cook (links to his books and articles ) – http://graycook.com/

BARE ALL, FEET FIRST

BARE ALL, FEET FIRST

Sarah Jamieson / Thoughts / , , , , / 0 Comment

“Walk where there is no path, and leave footprints.” ~ Unknown

For ultra runners, our feet can literally be coined the “tools of our trade.”  Clocking on any given week, my mileage “runs” an average of 140km via commuting, walking and being active for my profession as a corrective movement coach, and then of course training –  frolicking in nature (urban and rural). My feet have surprisingly held up very well over the last 2 decades of “pounding the pavement.” I like to think that Yoga and my Karmatic piggybank are to thank for my good fortune. Some have called me “Gandhi with Sneakers” others have called “a pure nutter.’ I would say both equally apply.

Running has always been my greatest teacher, my salvation, and my savior. Every step can be a tool to build upon the framework of thought, reflection and exploration. A moment in tme to process some of our most internal challenges and our greatest fears. And since I also believe that “fear” is merely “love” masked by shadow – we can all overcome any adversity, with the right strategy.  I have running to thank for creating the space, from which my mind, body and spirit can co-habitate to work through some of those moments where we strive to find balance, truth and our purpose in life. I believe sports and movement are fundamental to this process, and our feet – our greatest asset.

From the Ground Up:

Getting to know the mechanics of your feet and the pivotal role they play in athletics, yoga, movement and grounding is the first step to establishing a solid foundation in your any daily practice. In the yoga tradition, the lowly foot paradoxically has an almost transcendent status. Students will touch or kiss the feet of teachers, mentors and gurus alike – as a means of reverence, appreciation and respect.

Just as the foundation of a home or any structure for that fact, it must be level to support all the structures above it.  This is a perfect metaphor for our feet, as it makes sense to strive for foundational balance and sturdiness to support the legs, spine, upper extremities and the weight of the head, as well as the gravitational compression of our environment.

If our foundation or base is tilted, unsteady or collapsed, it will be reflected up through the body as distortion or misalignment and can cause compensational breakdowns throughout the interconnected systems. Therefore, does it not make sense to consider your feet first, and start cultivating balance from the ground up?

The Foundation of Design:

The foot is the foundation of athletic movements, our root to the earth and often, it is the most neglected. The foot is an intricate structure of 26 bones (I count the  tiny sesamoid bone in the great toe, but this is usually not counted –  let’s honor him here) that form two crossing arches of the foot. The longitudinal arch runs the length of the foot, and the transverse arch runs the width. The muscles of the foot, along with a tough, sinewy tissue known as the plantar fascia, provide secondary support to the foot. The foot has internal muscles that originate and insert in the foot and external muscles that begin in the lower leg and attach in various places on the bones of the foot.

Unlike solid structures, our bodies are mobile temples, and thus our feet are required to be adaptable, flexible and adjust to varied terrain and environmental factors.

When there is pain, the body reacts by changing the way it moves or functions in an effort to reduce the pain. Biomechanical changes or (dis)ease may prevent the normal range of movement and cause further injury. For instance, if there is excessive wear on one side, the foot can shift off its central axis, which can put strain on the knee, hip or sacral areas.  Weakened or unbalanced mechanics found in the feet, often refer pain and discomfort elsewhere in the body and literally can change the way we move through the world.

Our feet also ground us to the earth. Yoga is an exceptional fragment in time to clearly focus on this connection, as well as the obvious summer time walk along the beach, barefoot walk in the park – or barefoot anywhere, as is all the craze with barefoot running (I will save this for another article) as this topic is growing on me.

Reach for the Peak in Mountain:

Take mountain pose for instance; a perfect time to enhance your connection with nature and the earth, and to create malleability in the foot. We do this by taking the time to feel every inch of our feet, where our weight distributes and be stretching it lengthwise and extending it out laterally. By making the foot more elastic, we build an effective trampoline that springs the weight of the body upward. In all standing postures in yoga, these complementary forces of descending weight and rebound are at work.

Also consider postures that allow your connect both your hands and feet to the earth; a few personal favorite of mine are (of course) the sun salutation series (modified to focus on more joint fluidity), forward fold variations (there is something about swaying in the wind and having my feet rooted, but hands grace the floor that is comforting to me), triangle pose (reaching one hand to the sky and the other firmly planted along with me feet to earth is empowering), and lastly a vinyasa of crow pose to teddy bear stand to modified head stand (for some silly reason I find this one inspiring and playful at the same – it reminds me of fooling around in grade 3 gym class). Find posture that resonate with you and re connect this Spring!

As Spring has finally sprung, take some time to walk barefoot and connect to your roots, and during your next yoga practice take time to re connect and give your feet a little more (much needed) TLC.

 

 

 

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