Our feet are connected to our core – Townsville Podiatrist Hayley explains…

So yogis have been awake to the powerful interconnection between FOOT to CORE for a very long time – referring to the foot as ‘Pada Bundha’ and the pelvic floor as ‘Mula Bundha’. Focusing on the communication between these two Bundha’s allows for a very strong practice.

The pathway between the deep foot stabilisers (intrinsic foot muscles) and the deep core stabilisers (pelvic floor, deep lateral hip rotators) is referred to as our local stabilisation pathway. During movement, the local stabilising muscles of the foot and core need to fire first before the big global stabilising muscles. The local stabilisers job is to stabilise the joints, provide proprioceptive feedback and increase muscle stiffness and tension thereby providing cushioning. The global stabilisers generate the force to control acceleration and deceleration.

If the local stabilisers do not fire first or if the ‘foot to core’ sequencing is delayed, then injury risk is greater - think plantar fasciitis (heel pain), labral tear of hip, sciatica…

Our foot to core integration is via our deep frontal line – a fascial pathway starting with the intrinsic muscles of the foot working up to the pelvic floor, to the Psoas and into the diaphragm.

So our feet are part of our core stability!

During walking and running the only contact point between the body and the ground is our foot – therefore foot stability is crucial for the correct transfer of impact forces. The faster our feet and core can “talk” to each other, the more efficient our gait will be and therefore our injury risk decreases.

The barefoot exercise for foot to core integration is called SHORT FOOT ACTIVATION by Dr Janda. Performing this exercise during the day and also before you put your shoes on to do your exercise (whether that be running, aerobics or lawn bowls) can be very beneficial. In fact every exercise or injury rehab program, regardless of the region of the body, would benefit from foot to core sequencing.

Since our feet are the only contact with the ground, our feet play a critical role in how quickly we can stabilise the core when standing or moving (think tennis player hitting a ball or ballet dancer doing a plie).

 So the next time you go to the gym, for a run or have your weekly rehab session – are you involving some barefoot training? And if so, ask yourself – are you barefoot with a purpose? Are you integrating an intentional foot contraction during your exercise?

Our ACTIVE FOOT FORMULA teaches you how to love being barefoot, how to integrate short foot activation and how to start the conversation between your feet and your core!