Next time you’re around a bunch of people, take a look at their feet. What do you see?? Do you see ducks, pigeons…or a bit of both?? What about neutral feet…do you see any of those??
My opinion (and this is completely unscientific) is that you’ll see a lot of ducks, a few pigeons & even fewer neutrals. So what’s the big deal? Why do we care about foot position at all?
Well, foot position is directly related to ankle & hip mobility. And foot position can either help or hurt your sport performance. Case in point – the flutter kick in swimming. An efficient flutter kick requires very mobile ankles which allows you to apply force against the water all the way down to the tips of your toes. Can you say “legs as fins”??? And in running, foot position is critical to keeping your knees, hips & spine injury-free. Read on!
Here are the basics. We are vertical, land-based animals…which means we contact the ground with our feet. Since our feet are our “foundation”, the position they are in will impact our body all the way up to the top of our head. Feet that are splayed inwards or outwards will pull knees, hips, shoulders & head out of position which all negatively impact the body’s stability.
If we then do lots of repetitive motion sports (like running & cycling) with our feet in duck or pigeon positions, our bodies make specific compromises to create needed stability. These compromises take a toll on our joints & connective tissues by weakening them & increasing the speed at which they ultimately wear out.
When feet are turned outward (duck feet), the body compensates & creates stability in the following ways:
- Arches collapse inward
- Ankles cave inward
- Knees also cave inward
- When the knees fall inward, quad ligaments pull the patella (kneecap) out of alignment
Typical problems that come from duck feet are:
- Achilles’ tendonitis
- Knee pain like patella tendinitis.
- Hip pain
- Low back pain
Feet turned inward (pigeon feet) is less common…and it can actually be attributed to being a faster runner! But, increased speed is not a guarantee & potential problems are iliotibial band (IT Band) syndrome & anterior knee pain (pain in the front of the knee).
Unfortunately, our modern lifestyle doesn’t help us develop & maintain neutral feet. Long periods of sitting, wearing shoes that have overbuilt heels (both dress shoes & running shoes), rounded shoulders & forward-slumping head positions from staring at computer screens & cell phones all work to weaken our feet & collapse our arches.
directly under hips.
If you don’t have neutral feet, what’s a person to do? Start with postural awareness because sloppy posture creates sloppy feet. Stand up right now & check your feet. Are they straight & parallel to each other, shoulder-width apart & directly under your hips? If not, help them adjust by pulling your spine up tall & into neutral alignment. Here’s how:
- Activate your glutes by squeezing your bum muscles just a bit. This will position your pelvis into neutral.
- Pull your ribcage down by bringing your bottom ribs & the tops of your hips towards each other. You’ll feel your abs engage slightly.
- Position your head into neutral (ears are aligned over shoulders – not in front or back). Pull your shoulders back & down slightly to open your chest.
- Now check your feet. If they’re not already facing forward, bring them into neutral. This should be much easier to do now that you have great posture!
Working on great posture is only part of the solution to achieving neutral feet. The next issue to address is hip mobility & strength. Get those hips more open, mobile & strong & watch your foot position change for the better!
For more info on hip mobility & strength, check out…
Blog Post – Mobility Work – Who’s Got That Kind of Time?! – Performance High
Hip Mobility Video – Facebook
Hip Strength Tests – 3 Tips to Test Your Hip Strength with Coach Michelle – YouTube