It is sometimes crazy to think about your feet.  I mean it is one of those body parts that just seem to be there. But when you consider that we are bipedal animals they basically do everything for us.

So here are a few reasons they are not too jazzed with how you have been treating them lately or for your whole life.

1. You Never Give Them a Hug

When was the last time you touched your feet?  I mean like grabbed that beauty pulled it in and gave it a nice squeeze.  I bet the majority of you don’t even wash your feet all that well.

Ah, they are so far away.

We tend to forget that when we think about something our focus because more direct and intentional about those things and then it starts taking off from there.  You start to realize that you have some sore points on the bottom, or a weird nail thing going on that you didn’t even notice before.

Now the point is not to focus on weird feet things that you may or may not have but more importantly, we are trying to get you to understand that your feet are a very important part of your body especially as it pertains to movement, health, and fitness.

2. You Force Them To Take Odd Shapes 

I know we all know this but we basically turn a blind eye, and men and women are just as guilty to blame because some of the guy’s shoes out there that I have seen are crazy.

If your shoe comes to a point then your toes are pointing to you the middle finger!

We are not just talking about the front of the shoe we are also throwing in their heels, width, arches, all of it!

Now stop freaking out, cause I know ½ of you right now are thinking, “well I have flat feet” or “my arches are too high and they need support”.

This is not a one shoe size fits all conversation! (hey ooooo)

But one might argue that your feet are now this way because of what you did to them in the past. Neither here nor there we are trying to progress forward and not reminisce too hard on the past and what we could have done differently.

BUT!!!

All we are saying is that if you try to put a soft peg in a hard square hole eventually that peg will change its shape to fit in the constraints in which you are forcing it in.

Ideally, you want to have enough space in your foot wear for your foot to mold and adapt and change based on the various tasks and demands you are putting it through.  Something as simple as walking required the middle part of the foot to splay out and spread to help disperse forces, all while transitioning from various positions of supination and pronation.

All of the micro-movements, although mostly unconscious mostly because we are disconnected from our feet see bullet #1, control lower limb positioning above, hip function and movement, pelvic alignment, and so on and so forth.

3. They Never Get a Massage

We could really argue this for our whole bodies.  Most of us do not give ourselves the TLC that we deserve.

But with the shoes, you wear, walking throughout the day, sports and activities we do, the feet take a good beating!

Something as simple as taking a tennis ball, lacrosse ball, spikey ball, edge of a coffee table, really whatever you want and pushing and poking and digging in can create a massage session for your feet.  This can reduce tight muscles and tension throughout the feet.

It will also improve joint mobility and motion which is absolutely critical for overall function of the feet.

Not to mention all of the benefits in proprioception you get afterward.  Just touching an area of your body brings more awareness to the area, more awareness creates better mind to body connection which is what proprioception essentially is.  The more aware I can be the better I can manage and operate that area of my body.

4. You Suffocate Them

I am very surprised by how many people I work with who report wearing their shoes for literally 95% of the day.

They wake up and spend maybe 30 min to an hour barefoot or in socks and then throw shoes on and do not take them off until they are getting ready for bed.

Let those puppies breath!!!

Have you ever tried to do a squat or bend down towards the ground in a new pair or jean or some kind of tight clothing?  Your hips and knees cannot bend and move and they should and thus your ability to move is altered and changed.

The same is true for your feet in your shoes.  If they do not have the simple spacial capacity to move when we are weight-bearing then the joints will not be able to move and ultimately start giving you issues.  On the performance side, we need the toes to be bending and spreading out to ground us and distribute force adequately among the whole foot.

The better the distribution the more balance we have and more balance equal more control and we could argue that better control can lead to efficiency and performance.

5. They Don’t Live To Their Full Potential

As with most of our joints, our feet do not live up to their full potential.

What do we mean by this?

We use them in a very limited capacity and they are not able to do what they have the ability to do. Even if we are considering wearing shoes in which the feet are somewhat limited, depending on the type of shoe, we are not doing things barefoot.

So what do we suggest.

Find times and opportunities especially around the house or your yard to start wearing your shoes less and play and move with your dogs or your kids to challenge your feet, to make them stronger, to mobilize them and keep all of your joint healthy.

As we have stated many times in our articles motion is lotion, the more mobile and free we can keep our joints the healthier they will be, the better they will perform, and they will feel amazing!

So kick off those shoes and live a little!!