Legs fatigued because of barefoot and pronating ankles?

[shyguy]

I habe been going barefoot with thongs and barefoot shoes (vivobarefoot) for about 1 year. My job requires me to sit at a desk all day however. My feet are a bit flat but still flexible so i can create an arch but naturally my ankles roll in and i rekon from reading that i have mortons foot. When i stand so that my ankles arent rolled in then i dont really have any contact between the floor and my first metatarsel bone. I feel almost like it could be because i dont just let my ankles roll in to put more weight on the first metatarsel that my legs get fatigued... I spend all my time on hard surfaces. Also i got back into athletics last season and now have a small tear in the sesamoid ligament which doesnt seem to be getting any better and it has been 9 months! I can walk alright but still sometimes get pain if i roll onto that area or while my big toe is flexed back.

I feel much more grounded barefoot but am starting to wonder if i do need more padding and maybe some kind of support??? Feels really weird though to wear anything with a heel now (normal shoe heel - im male)...

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[Dr. Mark]

Shyguy, When standing ,

Shyguy,



When standing , walking, and running your foot needs to be balanced with the stability coming from your big toe anchoring to the ground. It would be interesting to see what the rest of the kinetic chain is doing. When your foot is not anchored and stable on the ground there are compensations upstream to balance yourself.



My suggestion is to get rid of your desk and do most of your work standing. I have a makeshift stand up desk (laptop on shoe boxes) and can be balancing all day and working on foot strength and stability. Do not recommend softer shoe…this creates instability.



Some folks do have an elevated first met head which can be identified by a pedograph. Then a firm pad under the first met may balance you more.



Dr. Mark

 

[shyguy]

Hi,Thanks for the

Hi,

Thanks for the response!

I have actually worked on standing with my big toe on more of an angle to create more of a "tripod" effect with my foot. It does help with the stability of my foot but can be difficult to maintain. My other query regarding that is does the pressure need to be through the toe or the first metatarsel ball of the foot. It is much more difficult to get much pressure/contact through the first metatarsel when doing this.

I habe also been finding it difficult to find good shoes to allow this. Tried several pairs of vivobarefoot but am not very impressed especially given that they still have too much toe spring which slightly pulls the toes back and doesnt really fit with the barefoot principle! Its especially hard to find shoes to wear with a suit as i have to for work.

 

[Deleted member 217]

You can improve the weight

You can improve the weight distribution under your foot if you work at it. In simple terms, our foot is a tripod with weight that should be equally under the first metatarsal head and the 5th metatarsal head and the heel. These are the 3 tripod points. Stand barefoot with your knees soft and bendy, close your eyes and work on balancing all three points on both feet. You may want to move your hips around a bit and CLOSE YOUR EYES to help tune in to your body.

If you pelvis is balanced, your feet will be easier to balance. Once each foot is balanced try to make both feet bear the same weight - imagine yourself on a scale, making the weight the same. By doing this exercise you will not only balance your feet but find the alignment of your whole body improve.

 

[Dr James Stoxen DC]

What Is Foot Pronation and Supination? Is it Good Or Bad? How can we strengthen our feet to avoid over supination or over pronation?

This is a commonly misunderstood concept and subject to debate by professionals. Dr Stoxen has lectured around the world on how the body absorbs impacts for years.

This is his best explanation of how it works and some articles that he has written.

When you impact the ground during walking or running, the force of the impact collisions are absorbed by the spring, but the efficiency of that process is dependent, in part, on how the foot rolls when it touches the ground.

The roll should distribute weight across the foot so it is absorbed gradually, avoiding shock to the skeleton. It rolls from supination (the outside of the foot) to pronation (the inside).

That roll has to be performed within a safe range, meaning if it starts rolling too far on the outside or too far to the inside, it causes the lower leg limb to twist, imposing abnormal stress and strain through the muscles, ligaments and tendons of the knee, hip, ankle, lower back, lower spine and up through the head.

http://teamdoctorsblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Safe_Range.jpg

The spring suspension muscles in the arch of the foot must be strong in order to prevent over rolling (over supination or over pronation) to maintain the foot in a safe range.

Your spring suspension system muscles that support your arches fatigued and weakened. The arch spring eventually collapsed and locked and that led to further abnormalities in the way you move, imposing stress and strain on all muscles, ligament joints and bones. Eventually, the wear and tear on every joint in the body promotes the inflammation.

“It’s a three step process: we unlock you, we strengthen the spring and eventually supercharge it,” he said. “That’s a sizeable journey but we start by identifying all the weaknesses in your mechanism.”
Read this article Dr Stoxen wrote

What Is Foot Pronation and Supination? Is it Good Or Bad?

http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/03/...nation-and-foot-supination-is-it-good-or-bad/

A counter support shoe is usually required to start the strengthening process in conjunction with spring suspension system exercises and carefully constructed running drills.

To learn how counter support shoes can maintain your foot in the safe range without sabotaging the spring loading that functions to spring you back from impacts and improves efficiency in walking and running by recycling natural energy through the spring read this article:

Video Tutorial #97 On Your Feet All Day? Fatigued? Achy? Over Pronation? I Recommend Footwear with Extended Medial Counters

http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/05/11/video-tutorial-97-do-you-need-a-good-counter-shoe-why/

Most importantly for your long-term health, here are some self-tests & exercises to help you reduce over pronation and over supination from impacts during walking and running.

http://teamdoctorsblog.com/2012/06/18/video-tutorial-28-the-impact-absorbing-landing-muscles-of-the-human-spring-mechanism-testing-and-training-the-spring-suspension-muscles/

I hope to network with more people who are interested in this subject. Please leave a comment in the articles to begin a exchange of thoughts.

Thank you for a nicely written article!

Dr James Stoxen DC, President, Team Doctors The Barefoot Running Doctor