A foot should be pain-free, flat on the ground, and fit your footwear.
The foot and ankle are marvelous but complex musculoskeletal structures composed of bones, joints, tendons, ligaments, and muscles that allow us to perform a wide variety of functions, from energy-efficient gaits to running to jumping or diving. It is able to adapt to a wide variety of terrain (from a sandy beach to a rocky cliff) and be able to convert from a flexible shock absorber into a rigid platform. To understand how it can perform these incredible feats, it is necessary to understand the basic functional anatomy of the foot and ankle.
Surface Anatomy
The foot and ankle are normally composed of 28 bones. The toe bones (phalanges) and metatarsal bones make up the forefoot. The three cuneiform bones, cuboid bone, and navicular make up the midfoot; and the talus and calcaneus (heel bone) make up the hindfoot. The tibia, fibula and talus comprise the ankle. Two small floating bones (sesamoids) are located underneath the great toe metatarsal phalangeal joint. The bones are arranged so that there is a longitudinal arch and a transverse arch in the midfoot.
Joints
The various joints of the foot and ankle allow the foot to move in many directions. They allow the foot to adapt to many (often irregular) surfaces, absorb shock and walk in a smooth fashion. The ankle joint (as previously described) is composed of the fibula, tibia, and talus. This joint functions as a modified hinge joint and is the main joint that allows the talus and attached foot to pull up (dorsiflex) or move downward (plantarflex). Together with the other smaller joints in the midfoot, the foot may dorsiflex as much as 20 degrees or plantar flex as much as 40 degrees.
Working Person’s Store offers a wide variety of footwear including work, athletic, hiking and casual boots and shoes (and more) which can accurately accommodate your footwear needs. Additionally, finding the right pair of socks is another important feature for your feet. With the right pair of socks to go with your footwear, you can help increase your comfort and endurance during your day.
