My Foot Function

Massage = foot care hack!

Dedicating just 7-10 mins per evening will do a LOT, follow this easy massage routine & try to see it through next month. Report back to us on the improvements at the end of June, we are confident you’ll see and feel many!

Step 1: Hold your foot with one hand and pull your toes away from the toe joints, repeat this for all toes.

Step 2: Bend your lesser toes and big toe in opposite directions, as far as you can, making sure your lesser toes are flattened for full lengthening of the extensors.

Step 3: Stabilise your foot and with your other hand, pull your big toe away from your 2nd toe.

Step 4: Pull out your big toe and gently rotate the toe to decompress the joint.

Step 5-6: Get as many fingers you a between your toes, starting with the 1st and 2nd toe, then gently move your toes in a circular motion.

Incorporate this structured routine into your daily schedule, dedicating both morning and evening sessions to this essential practice.

Witness the immediate benefits as you experience improved toe connection and activity, which can have a positive impact on your overall posture and gait.

Walking on your lunch break?

Going from one static position to another, only to return to that initial static position is unhealthy.. and we all have the ability to change this! The effect it has on our bodies are priceless!

Or starting the day with a simple morning flow, not a workout, just 15 minutes to wake the body up.

Movement doesn’t have to be scheduled.
It can be woven into your day.

A walk at lunch.
Switching between sitting & standing.
Raising one leg and quietly working on your balance.

What you also wear at work matters more than you think, not because it’s special, but because it’s worn the most.

Keeping a few small tools under your desk will allow you to improve on mobility, stability & overall wellbeing.

Your gym sessions or preferred training still matter.
But the biggest change comes from how often you move, not how hard. Little & often will triumph over exhausting yourself a few times per week.

This is what we mean by Movement Snacks.
Small movements. Repeated daily. Compounded over time. It is manageable, simple, effective & will not consume your time!

So think; I’ll take the stairs over the lift, I’ll kick off my shoes behind my desk, I’ll take a walk during my lunch break, let’s work on my balance, let’s massage my feet, time for a movement snack!

Have you ever seen natural feet?

For us it seems, natural feet, for majority of the population are weird, odd looking, hobbit like or plain old ugly.. but let’s not forget that we all began life with the following characteristics:

Widest across the toes: our feet, from birth are widest at the forefoot & they would in fact remain that way if they didn’t wear shoes that are the polar opposite to the natural shape of the foot, widest at the forefoot. Study your footwear, if it becomes narrower at the forefoot then it’s 100% going against the natural shape of our feet.

Wide, oh so wide: Natural feet are wide, get used to it people! Woman & men alike, should have wide feet, as upright beings, we rely on healthy, functional & you guessed it, WIDE feet. The more feet are restrictive & narrow through poorly fitted shoes, the worse balance is, simple. As we age, balance becomes something we rely on heavily & trust us, having a wider foot is an advantage later in life.

Mobile feet: Feet than can flex, bend, spring off, are strong & move similarly to hands are something that we can carry through our life, if we keep using them!

This knowledge has been around since the early 1800s, individuals trying to educate the public on foot health and the negative effects of ill fitted shoes.

We will be posting these historical posts, more and more, trying to bring awareness to this subject.

Do Genetics Play a Role?

These sisters show a clear difference in foot function. One has worn shoes for years; the other has never worn shoes.

Could shoes be the culprit behind the older sister’s foot issues? Or is it genetics?

Our study, “The Shoe Effect,” revealed many stories like this. Participants often noticed changes in foot health linked to their footwear habits.

Want to improve your foot function? Start by rethinking your daily shoes and adding some foot exercises. With patience, healthier feet are possible!

Check out our “Fix Your Feet” workshop, an excellent way to begin improving your foot health and function.

Share this with someone who needs to see it—especially if they doubt shoes make a difference!

📅 Reflecting on “The Shoe Effect” from Nov 2023, we ask: Are bunions genetic or caused by our shoes?

Healthy Feet = Strong Roots 🌱

Imagine a tree growing freely in nature—its roots spread wide, providing stability, strength, and resilience. Now, picture a tree confined in a small pot—its roots restricted, limiting its growth and weakening its foundation.

Our feet are no different! As children, we start with naturally wide, strong feet, but years of restrictive footwear can alter their shape, weaken muscles, and affect overall function.

Just like a tree needs space to grow strong roots, our feet need freedom to maintain their natural strength and structure.

🔸 Choose footwear that respects natural foot shape.
🔸 Train your feet for strength and mobility.
🔸 Let your toes spread and move freely.

Give your feet the freedom they deserve—because strong feet create a strong foundation for movement!

Are you wearing the right shoe size?
(oldie but still very relevant)☺️

As important as selecting the shoe is, sizing it correctly is equally important!

As the illustration shows, we come across 2 common sizing mistakes on a daily basis, hopefully this post will help you to make the right choice.

Common mistake 1: sizing up!

This mistake is made when we try to create more space within conventional shoes. As the overall space within the shoe is restricted people tend to size up to accommodate.

The problem comes when an individual must size up so much that he/she now has shoes that are far too big, resulting in compensations in walking/running.

The errors in these types of shows still remain, more often than not there will be a shoe spring, restricted toe box, overall stiffness & more.

Common mistake 2: Too small

This problem occurs when buying minimal footwear for the first time or simply wearing them for too long.

Buying for the first time:
When switching from conventional shoes to functional / minimal shoes you will get the send that THEY ARE HUGE, because of this people often lean towards the sensation they are used to (snug, tight, almost squeezed).

Growing out of your shoes:
Switching shows will result, in most cases, in your feet expanding. This can happen in a matter of months which unfortunately means you’ll have grown out of your brand new (expensive) shoes quickly. Our nature is to wear them, to get our moneys worth.. but this will simply slow your progress! Check your shows regularly to make sure they fit well.

Our whole team have gone up 2 full sizes on average since transitioning! 🫨

The Sweet Spot:
1-2cm / 0.8inch from the tip of the toe to the edge of the shoe. This allows for the foot to expand throughout the day.

You cannot go wrong with the shoe bed test, a test to determine if the shoe is the right size & shape for you! Haven’t seen this test, comment below & we will be sure to repost it! 😊

Footwear matter

This is a comparison we saw, each day during our study in Sri Lanka. When footwear is compulsory, the feet suffer, and boy do they suffer!

Asking the tea workers “do your feet ever hurt” & getting a strange look in return, foot pain was not common.

Among the police & many other communities (future posts), when asking the very same question, we saw foot issues exactly like we face in the west, among shoe wearing populations.

One of the most interesting stories we will begin to share, is that of occupation & how it affects the lives of the people of Sri Lanka.

These 3d images were taken with our partner at Volumental where we can assess the dimensions of the feet and so much more. Stay tuned for more stories from this study as we begin to prepare for publication.

Thank you to our study partners WYDE FOOTWEAR® who helped each step of the way to make this study a reality & another big thanks to the brands who sponsored this study, allowing it to take place!

Sponsors: Feelgrounds Barefoot Shoes AVANCUS® Pyopp Barefoot Footwear PaperKrane | Feet First, Fun Always 🌈👣 RHIZAL MAGICAL SHOES Barefoot Shoes FLEETERS - GET CLOSER

Study updates coming very soon.

At the northernmost reaches of Namibia, we spent several days learning from the Himba.

We took a deep dive into their health, the way they live, move and socialise and came away with far more than we expected.

Beautiful people, strong and healthy, and another powerful reinforcement of so much of what we believe about foot function and natural movement.

We left with fuller hearts, new perspectives, and one certainty: we’ll be back. Dr. Ludidi 🇿🇦

How you stand all day is kind of important.

We can measure this through plantar pressure.. and in our case a plantar pressure plate.

Let’s keep this simple:

Warmer colours = higher pressure
Vertical/horizontal axis = posture
Small X = Peak pressure point

We’re looking for even weight distribution between left and right, this would show in cooler colours throughout the foot, minimal orange and red.

Left image was our starting point, we can see a lot of weight through the heel & centrally to the forefoot (a problem area for her).

Right image now shows how we are able to make subtle changes to improve how she distributes the weight throughout her foot. These adjustments are small corrections made in feet & hip position mainly to keep things simple ☺️

Before:

A large portion of the weight in the heels which was her default. Left metatarsal area under pressure & a difference from her left/right foot distance from the centre of gravity.

Very common habits we see in people.

Three minutes later with the ability to now see the screen and a few subtle adjustments by the coach, we can see how the weight distribution can be improved so much.

These changes will make a HUGE difference to her day-day life. She has been given the exercises and cues to maintain this over time & for it to become second nature.