Deliberate Practice Tip: Establish Strong Foundations To Prevent Injuries

The best way to PREVENT injuries and improve performance is to establish strong foundations and the feet are vitally important. This is great video that covers the foundational principles to having ‘strong feet’.

I’ve created a checklist to help you apply the fantastic suggestions as well as a detailed a summary of the video’s self-assessments.

DETAILED VIDEO SUMMARY

Skill 1: Learn to Splay the Toes

• Importance of Toe Splay: Spreading the toes to make them the widest part of the foot creates a stable tripod-like base. This stability is crucial for overall balance and effective foot mechanics.
• Biomechanical Advantage: Proper toe alignment aligns toe bones with mid-foot bones, optimizing muscle positioning for better arch activation. Misaligned toes—like in bunions—disrupt this, weakening muscular function and flattening arches.
• Scientific Support: Research shows that even a 10-degree toe misalignment can lead to arch collapse.
• Self-Test:
  • Level 1: No toe spreading; toes feel glued.
  • Level 2: Slight spread; big toe lifts.
  • Level 3: Can spread but cramps in arch within 1 minute.
  • Level 4: Can spread and hold for over 1 minute without issues.
• Common Obstacle: Narrow toe-box shoes inhibit toe movement, causing toes to become stuck in misaligned positions.
• Solutions:
  • Choose wide toe-box or barefoot-style shoes that mimic natural foot shape.
  • Use silicone toe spacers to passively realign toes as they retrain to splay actively.
• Evidence: A 12-month study showed silicone spacers combined with wide shoes significantly improved toe alignment compared to wide shoes alone.

Skill 2: Single-Leg Balance Stability

• Why It Matters: Most movements (60-70% of walking, and all running) demand single-leg support. Strong single-leg stability means the foot and body can handle whole-body weight without collapsing.
• Research Finding: A six-week single-leg balance program increases arch height, indicating improved foot support.
• Test Levels:
  • Level 1: Cannot balance for more than 1 minute on one leg.
  • Level 2: Cannot complete 10 consecutive single-leg heel raises unsupported.
  • Level 3: Cannot control heel raises slowly (3-second ascent/descent).
  • Level 4: Can perform 10+ controlled slow heel raises with good balance.
• Additional Check: Hip drop during single-leg standing indicates weak glutes, which impair stability.
• Integrated Approach: Glute activation is essential alongside foot strengthening; links to glute exercises are suggested.

Skill 3: Ankle Mobility and Deep Squat Ability

• Link to Foot Health: Limited ankle mobility correlates strongly with flat feet and overpronation. When ankles are stiff, the foot compensates by collapsing arches.
• 2022 Study Finding: Over 70% of people with fallen arches have restricted ankle mobility.
• Deep Squat Test:
  • Level 1: Unable to squat deeply; weight shifts backward, heels lift, or back rounds.
  • Level 2: Can squat deeply only with feet turned out (“duck feet”).
  • Level 3: Can maintain proper squat form but not for over 1 minute.
  • Level 4: Maintains perfect squat (feet straight, upright torso, flat back) for over 1 minute.
• Practical Tip: Increase ankle mobility gradually by spending time sitting in a squat position and using lower chairs to improve flexibility.

Skill 4: Impact Absorption and Controlled Pronation

• Why Absorption Is Crucial: Each running step can exert 3–4 times body weight as impact force. For example, a 70kg runner covering 3km (about 4,000 steps) experiences around 840 tonnes of force transmitted through their feet.
• Injury Risk: Nearly 79% of recreational runners sustain injuries yearly, often linked to poor impact absorption and overpronation.
• Biomechanics of Pronation: Normal pronation helps absorb shock; overpronation occurs when the arch collapses, risking injury.
• Impact Absorption Test:
  • Stand on a slope facing your body to encourage overpronation.
  • Level 1: Cannot balance on one foot on slope.
  • Level 2: Balances but arch collapses; big toe deviates inward.
  • Level 3: Holds balance with stable arch but less than 1 minute.
  • Level 4: Holds balance with stable arch over 1 minute.
• Glute-Foot Connection: A 4-week study combining foot and glute strengthening showed 68% greater improvement in overpronation compared to foot training alone.
• Simple Glute Test:
  • Knees together deactivate glutes and cause overpronation.
  • Contract glutes and knees separate; feet return to neutral.
• Conclusion: Addressing both feet and glutes is essential for alignment and impact control.
• Course Offer: A combined feet and glutes program with a discount code is available.

Skill 5: Re-Stiffening the Foot Arch for Push-Off Power

• Function: After absorbing impact, the foot must stiffen its arch to push off effectively during gait.
• Test Procedure:
  • Place coins under the highest point of the arch with a gap beneath.
  • Level 1: Cannot fit two coins under foot arch while standing.
  • Level 2: Can fit coins but arch collapses while balancing.
  • Level 3: Arch maintains height at rest but collapses during leg movements (pointing foot to different “clock hours”).
  • Level 4: Arch stays elevated and stable during all dynamic movements with correct foot alignment.
• Improving Arch Strength:
  • Gradual barefoot exercise promotes intrinsic foot muscle development.
  • A four-month study showed barefoot activity raised arch height by 4.7 mm.
• Barefoot Shoe Benefits: Wearing barefoot shoes regularly can increase foot strength by nearly 60% in six months.
• Resources:
  • Personal barefoot shoe reviews and database (“Find My Shoes”) help select appropriate footwear.

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In summary, building strong feet requires mastery of five interconnected skills: toe splay, single-leg balance, ankle mobility, controlled impact absorption through pronation, and arch stiffening for propulsion. Addressing footwear, combining foot and glute exercises, and gradually increasing barefoot activity are practical strategies to achieve durable, stable, and injury-resistant feet that support the whole body’s function.