With your feet properly aligned, you set yourself up for better mechanics at the knee and hip. This translates to improved performance and decreased wear and tear on your joints. A quick check for foot alignment can help you maintain good mechanics as you exercise and move through your day.
Down below is a one-minute video for your alignment check. First though, let’s look at what we’re trying to accomplish.
The Goal
When you’re in standing, you want your foot in a neutral position with weight bearing through the tripod of the foot. The tripod is formed by:
- the center of the heel
- the ball of the foot at the base of the big toe
- the ball of the foot at the base of the little toe
Pronation
If you pronate, or tend to collapse inward at the arch, you will probably bear more weight on the red dot than the green. You’ll probably also bear more to the inside of that blue dot. Focus on getting more weight through the green dot (the fifth metatarsal at the base of the big toe) and you’ll counteract your tendency to pronate.
Supination
If you’re in the minority and supinate or roll outwards, you’ll want to bear more weight towards the red dot (the first metatarsal at the base of the big toe) and move your weight slightly inward at the heel to the blue dot.
These are all very subtle motions and are best practiced in bare feet where you don’t have the distraction of your shoe.
Strengthening
To really ‘get’ the tripod of the foot, you’ll want to do specific strengthening exercises. I’ve included some links below that show you how to do this. But, if you’ve been working on foot position and strength, here’s a quick check for foot alignment.
Establishing neutral foot position in standing provides you with a good ‘home base’ for movement. As you move, your foot will flex in and out of that tripod with subtle pronation and supination to take advantage of the unique design and structure of the foot.
Be foot strong and fit!
Related Posts: