casket and remove the shroud. Even then, bringing it to the light of day is not that easy. Take the index finger of one hand and place it under your knuckle joint in your other hand. Tell your fingers first to bend while keeping the finger straight. Note that it is obvious how this works the finger from the knuckle joint and makes it protrude more. Next, with the other finger in the same spot, curl your fingers in from the finger-tips. A different group of muscles are engaged here and this action does not work this joint. Your brain has a map for the difference between these two actions in your hand; your foot, however - which has the same basic anatomy - does not. Remember that there are two elements here, the neuro and the muscular. The neuro element involves creating that all-important map. When we get to the muscular aspect it will take us into a complex of issues involving: adhesions, stiffness, the lack of strength of certain muscles and tendons (atrophy) and some precise motor control issues that we will consider shortly.
The Gold Standard of a Natural Stride However, first it will be helpful if we
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briefly consider the ideal natural stride to get some sense of just how vital and important the foot knuckle is to a natural stride action. The first part of this stride carries the weight forward onto the advancing leg. A lot of emphasis in the natural running work is placed on achieving a neutral walking or running stance. This is the starting point of the stride sequence. The feet are a hip’s width apart (about 5-6”) with one foot placed about a foot’s length ahead of the other. As the weight transfer completes its part of the cycle in easing you forward it is followed by a head-to-toe opening release in which the rear leg releases right through to the toes. When this action is complete the heel - and in fact most of the foot - has been raised from the floor simply by opening up this cascade of releases to the force of gravity. Note this does not defeat gravity, it uses gravity - no direct upward lifting energy has been employed. Following the course of this preparatory action as it progresses through the hips, we may note that it achieves the following impressive list of functions:
It allows the hip joint to freely
swivel It allows the knee to freely swing to catch up with the advancing
Autumn/Winter 2013
knee
It articulates the hinge of the ankle joint freely
It engages the toes so that the forefoot becomes like a broad and spread rocker. There is something very important to appreciate about this phase of the stride action: it prepares and positions the foot so that the arc of movement that has been initiated as the heel raises from the floor is then picked up by a chain of muscle action which continues so that the heel is lifted toward the rump in a smooth arcing action. The vital point is this: IF THE ACTION CANNOT FREELY COMPLETE ITSELF THEN OTHER MUSCLE GROUPS HAVE TO COMPENSATE AND THE FOOT CERTAINLY LEAVES THE FLOOR BUT IT DOES SO PREMATURELY. We are not going into the next phase of the stride sequence, i.e. the change of support phase here, but we may note that, while there are an infinite number of ways to get the foot off the floor in order to walk/run there is only one that does this with maximum efficiency and ease and it requires this key joint to lead the way for the action to complete its natural function. Experiment with this action yourself. Let your foot roll up as you ease back and forth in a step forward position. Now imagine your foot is strapped to
Barefoot Running Magazine