Now I have seen everything!  The following is an extract from an article
entitled "Foot Fitness takes Careful Treading" (written by Wayne Westcott PhD)
which was circulated by Patriot Ledger News Service for publication in various
local newspapers:

<<Although it isn't easy to strength-train the feet, one way to involve these
muscles is to sit on a chair and, using your toes, attempt to pick up objects
of various shapes and sizes: a washcloth, a kitchen towel, a sponge, a small
stone or comparable objects.  Five to 15 repetitions should be sufficient.>>

STRENGTHENING THE FEET?

Some of us have probably read this same well-meaning advice made years ago by
miscellaneous physical therapists and have wondered how anyone can take this
seriously.  Just as many fitness experts believe that high repetition
abdominal exercises with or without machine toys 'strengthens' the abs, so we
may have many folk beginning to accept that light unloaded training without
the use of the gradual overload principle will actually create significant
increase in strength.

Now we are being told that curling your ape-like toes around some light object
will 'strengthen' the feet in some meaningful way!  We are also being told
that "it isn't easy to strength-train the feet", even though most average folk
have strong enough feet to walk, balance, run and jump.

The action of lifting tiny objects may improve your motor control for some
minimally demanding physical task with your feet, but it will never produce
muscle tension which even vaguely compares with that generated by simple
walking, calf raising and walking.  

In fact, if you do anything which involves some powerful plantarflexion, such
as walking, running and jumping, you are "strengthening your feet" more than
that chimp-like toe exercise.   Calf-raising, skipping, jumping, jerking a
weight overhead, plyometrics and most sports (especially those which require
regular chages of direction with the feet) are all activities which
"strengthen the feet" to a far greater extent.   

I have intentionally placed that term in inverted commas, because if one is
hoping to strengthen the "muscles of the feet", we will recall that, while
there is an abundance of tendon, ligament and other soft tissue in the feet,
most of the muscle which moves the feet is located in the lower leg.  So, if
one is serious about "strengthening the feet", one has to train the whole
lower extremity and not fall into that simplistic isolationist trap again.

ARCH SUPPORT

That same article included another snippet of advice which seems to have
originated with shoe salesmen, namely:

<<Consider that each foot is constructed from 26 separate bones and an awesome
lattice of ligaments, tendons, muscles and elastic bands.  Add to this the
importance of a properly positioned arch that absorbs landing forces and
attenuates stress to the ankles, knees, hips, back and body in general>>

Books such as Nigg's "Biomechanics of Running Shoes" and publications by S
Robbins (Med Sci Sports  Exerc 1987, 1988), it will be learned that the
natural shock absorption capabilities of the foot may be severely compromised
by various arch and foot supports.  In fact, these and other publications
reveal that there is a greater incidence of lower extremity injuries among
those who wear soft shock absorbing shoes (Some of this research is summarised
in Siff & Verkhoshansky  "Supertraining"  1998  Ch 8.9).

Shock absorption by the bare foot is a very clever process which involves at
least the following passive and active methods of control:

•  the foot arch is flexible like the leaf springs in many cars and is meant
to sag to absorb vertical shocks passively

•  the connective tissue-linked matrix of various small bones in the feet is
meant to splay outwards to offer further passive shock absorption

•  the skeletal structure of the foot and ankle allows the foot to 'roll' and
'sag' along its full length to distribute loading from heel to toe, thereby
offering another dynamic cantilever-like shock absorbing mechanism

•  the tendons from the toes continue up the lower leg as part of the various
leg muscles and they change tension under neuromuscular control to offer
active control of impulsive loading

Firm arch supports, tight laces, highly resilient soles and relatively
inflexible soles tend to decrease the leg's natural shock absorbing
capabilities and compel higher structures in the body, such as the knees, hips
and back to cope with the shocks of landing.  The thickness and mechanical
composition of the sole also slows down the ability of the body to react to
pressure on the soles of the feet, thereby compounding the problem.

The article goes on to talk about how useful "substantial force absorption",
snug lacing of ankle supporting shoes (for basketball and volleyball), and
"orthodic " (actually this should be "orthotic") shoe inserts are all valuable
methods of preventing foot injury, even though the solution is nowhere that
clearcut, as the above-mentioned research shows.  In fact, in many cases,
these "preventative" measures may do exactly the opposite of what is intended.

CONCLUSION

Has anyone else come across articles like this which appear in the mass media
and which often tend to mislead a rather over-trusting public?  It would be
interesting to discuss and correct any other misleading tales in the weird and
wonderful world of fitness.

Dr Mel C Siff
Colorado, USA
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