LIFESTYLE NEWS - Exercise is one of the ways to improve your physical well-being and it aids in great measure to get rid of ailments, aches and pains. Follow the exercise programme provided by the biokineticists at Anine van der Westhuizen Biokineticist in George and feel the difference. This week biokineticist Lize Coetzee chats a little more about pronation in her series about the foot.
In the previous instalment we discussed pronation of the foot during the gait cycle. Just to recap, pronation is an inward-rolling movement of the inside border (medial border) of the foot. Although pronation of the foot is a normal action during locomotion (walking), it has to end somewhere, so that the foot can become rigid to help propel you forward. If the foot stays pronated for too long at this stage, it's called prolonged pronation.
Pronation normally ends during mid-stance when the weight is shifted from the posterior (the back) of the foot to the forefoot, as the foot begins to roll upward and forward to a position of supination.
Supination is when the foot starts to roll outward and the sole of the foot starts to face inward, towards the ankle of the opposite foot. The foot becomes rigid, preparing to act as a lever that will launch the body forward. Body weight moves to directly over the foot.
During this propulsive action the foot effectively becomes a lever, with the structures within the back of the foot providing force and the ball of the foot serving as a fulcrum. The heel starts to lift, and the foot structures and muscles start preparing for toe-off. Toeing off brings the foot away from the ground and launches it into the swing phase, where no weight is borne until the stance phase repeats at the next ground contact.
Injuries of prolonged pronation can include stress fractures, Achilles tendinitis, plantar fasciitis and also runner's knee. With most of these injuries, biokineticists can help strengthen certain muscles surrounding the structures (bones and joints).
With regard to tendons we follow certain loading protocols that help with tendon healing and tendon remodelling.
Over-pronation of the foot in standing is also called collapsed arches or flat feet. In this case one can focus on the tibialis posterior muscle. This muscle's job is to lift and support the arch of your foot. One way to strengthen this muscle is to stand on one leg, lift your heel just one centimetre and hold that position, so that the tibialis posterior muscle can activate. In other cases the cause of flat feet, or collapsed arches, is more structural, and orthotics will be needed.
Next week we will focus on the foot structure and injuries of the foot.
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