Strong Arches: Midfoot Strength
Moving right along to the midfoot… midfoot is the part of the foot we usually think of when we think of the arch. We frequently pick upon the arch, that it is collapsing or you have “flat feet” or pronating feet. I like to preach mobility of the midfoot with emphasis on control. *Friendly reminder that these blogs are a mixture of clinical opinion, biomechanical research, coaching experience, and discussing possible shared themes from the worlds of sport performance and injury prevention. No one is perfect, no one has perfect alignment, and we can make a pretty good business out of healthcare when we pitch that they should be. I’m always cautious of this and that is why these blogs and posts are meant to help you “FEEL” better, by hopefully increasing awareness of your body. They are not meant to make you stress about your joint alignment and mobility. If you are concerned, we take a look at how your moving to decrease stress from an area and then build it up to tolerate as much load as possible.
In a very, very general sense, the midfoot should be stable so that the talocrural (ankle) joint can be mobile (this gives us our movement when squatting, lunging, going downstairs etc). In addition to the talocrural joint being mobile, the big toe will be able function better as a lever. The midfoot also still needs to move, as in a golf/baseball swing or any lateral hopping movement- we create a rotation movement through our feet and need to be able to transmit forces accordingly. Your big toe should be able to maintain contact with the ground.
The last bit, and probably the most relevant to ankle mobility, is the ability of the tibia (inside lower leg bone) to be able to go away (outside your body) from your ankle. If you have an issue with your knees coming in at the bottom of your squat, looking at the midfoot can be helpful.
I will always assess a squat when someone comes in. Whether you squat 400+ lbs, or you have never lifted weight in your life, we have all squatted. You need to get up and down from a chair, or the ground, so therefore you have squatted. One of my good friends came to see me last week and she reminded me of her previous physio who had told her “you should just never squat to take pressure off your knees”. I really don’t know how she was supposed to go to the bathroom. This is not practical advice, let alone good advice.
When we coach a squat we say cues like “drive your knees out” in an effort to increase your sensation of your hips when you are descending. This is helpful, but we can lose sensation of what our feet are doing with this cue. Our feet should be giving us a strong tripod of support. I think another helpful cue is to “screw your feet into the ground” to increase the awareness in the foot. If you can’t feel this with your shoes on, take them off. When you screw your feet into the ground, you should feel a pressure balance between your big toe, little toe, and heel. These three points will help to tension your arch. Your midfoot should be strong in this position, and this is where your bar path travels overtop during your lifts.
Strong feet are happy feet!!