Feet 101: Essential Health Basics That You Need To Know

Did your know?..

BONES

  • Our feet each have 26 bones (we also have 26 vertebrae.) Both these bone structures support us - not only physically - and give us balance and stability.
  • A quarter of our 206 body bones  are in our feet. When our foot bones are out of alignment, so is the rest of the body.




NERVES

  • There are more than 7,000 nerve endings in each of our feet (superficial and deeper nerve endings send sensory messages to our brain:  heat, cold, pain...)
  • The lumbosacral plexus (L2 - S1) is the group of spinal nerves that innervates our lower extremities








  • Dermatomes of  lower limbs and feet: A dermatome is an area of the skin that is irrigated by a single spinal nerve. The nerve root of a dermatome picks up sensory stimuli from this entire area of ​​the skin. Sensations (pain, sensitivity, burning ... ) in the whole skin area is a symptom often caused by one same nerve root









MUSCLES

  • Each foot is made up of an intricate network of more than 100 tendons, ligaments and muscles, and 33 joints - now is a good time to emphasize how important it is to care for and train your body's muscular and joint systems, including your feet, with regular exercise and a healthy diet.
  • Myotomes of the foot: In the same way that a certain nerve root innervates a dermatome, it also innervates a certain group of muscles: a myotome, where in particular, it sends motor signals. Therefore, the involvement of a nerve can cause loss of the functions of the muscles it innervates (weakness, lack of mobility ...)
  • For example, the following spinal nerves allow the following muscle functions:
    • L3: knee extension
    • L4: ankle dorsiflexion
    • L5: extension of the big toe
    • S1: plantar flexion of the ankle


MORE ABOUT OUR FEET 

  • Feet have 250,000 sweat glands. When active, feet can produce four to six ounces of sweat a day, sometimes more. Now is a good time to emphasize how hydration is essential to the health of your feet, and your overall health, using moisturizers and foot baths. 
  • Each step we take places 1.5 times our body weight on the foot (a 75-kilo person exerts 115 kilograms of pressure on the foot with each step). 
  • It is estimated that a person will take approximately 5,000 to 7,000 steps a day or about 125,000 km in his lifetime, 3 to 4 times the circumference of the planet. 
  • Our feet are the first shock absorbers in our body. The plantar fascia, also known as plantar fascia, is a strong layer of white fibrous tissue located under the skin on the sole of the foot: it supports the arch of the foot and distributes the plantar load. (Its excessive stretching can cause plantar fasciitis.) It is essential to take good care of it, wearing the right footwear, walking barefoot when possible on various types of surfaces, doing progressive stretches (unless otherwise indicated by a doctor) 
By stimulating the nerve endings in the feet, Reflexology promotes the well-being of your feet while naturally supporting the functions of your body's connected tissues and organs, distally and harmlessly: it promotes your overall health. 


Sources: 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/lumbosacral-plexus#:~:text=Definition%3A-,The%20lumbosacral%20plexus%20is%20a%20network%20of%20nerves%20derived%20from,(compare % 3A% 20brachialis% 20plexus) 

https://www.innerbody.com/anatomy/nervous/leg-foot https://www.stepwards.com/?page_id=10671 

https://www.medspine.es/dermatomas/#:~:text=En%20cada%20uno%20de%20los,same%20nervio%20se%20denominan%20dermatomas https://geekymedics.com/dermatomes-and-myotomes/ 

http://www.bridgewater.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Foot-Facts.pdf 

https://www.pmbc.ca.gov/forms_pubs/tp_podiatryfacts.pdf