Elastic Feet

Mind numbing (& perhaps foot numbing!) to think our feet & ankles with 26 bones, 33 joints, over 100 muscles, tendons & ligaments, routinely propel us thousands of steps per day. Archeological evidence points to relinquished prehensility in favor of elastic energy storage capacity permitting boundless miles to be blissfully covered.

Running can be modeled biomechanically as an inverted pendulum. As the center of mass lowers in the first half of stance elastic tissue in the foot is stretched. The tissue subsequently recoils in the latter half of stance as the center of mass rises and the runner pushes off.

The medial & lateral arches together form the longitudinal arch consisting of tarsal & metatarsal bones and supported by tendons, ligaments & musculature. The plantar aponeurosis is a ribbon-like fibrous connective tissue connecting the posterior calcaneus (your heel) fanning towards the base of the metatarsals (your toes). The longitudinal arch, the plantar aponeurosis, the instrinsic muscles of the foot, extracellular matrix surrounding their fibers and the titin molecules of their myofilaments all stretch potentially storing energy that is later released with push off.

Optimal energy return, critical to running economy, is contingent upon the integrity of all these tissues. Despite being anatomically distal, your feet should hold a place at the forefront of your mind. Daily stretching, massaging & rolling your feet will help tremendously with recovery & take you far on your running journeys. 

See you up the trail!