permanently re-forming big-toe angle?

[Charlie]

I have been reading the ShoeBusters site (www.shoebusters.com/thesis.html) that has some crazy ideas on disease, but if you please skip those bits, you will see some disturbing pictures & discussion on the de-formation of the shape of the foot due to shoes.

Basically, they show pictures comparing the foot of a habitually unshod person and that of a westerner, showing how a 'natural' foot should have the big toe widely spaced from the rest, and pointing forward or inwards a bit. A straight line should be able to be drawn from the tip of the big toe, though to the heel. Most peoples' big toes have been deformed inwards in response to years of wearing tight-toebox shoes in the developmental years.

Here are some images from the page:
http://www.shoebusters.com/naturalfeet.jpg

A line can be drawn that runs through the heel, ball, and big toe of a habitually bare foot. The little toes spread naturally and fan out to provide a wide, stable base for walking or standing. How do our shod feet compare? The following more common image, also taken from the 1905 study, demonstrates feet that are shaped like the owner's shoes. No such line can be drawn, and the little toes crowd to a point—a comparatively unstable, narrow base for walking or standing.
http://www.shoebusters.com/unnaturalfeet.jpg

Do you accept that as reasonable? And do you think that deformity could be reversed by a few months or so of inserting a wine-cork (or whatever) between the biggest toe & next one? Would the toes permanently alter to a more natural angle, or is that not possible for an adult foot, would there likely be negative consequences of trying to do so?

[sames]

Huh. Assuming for the moment that the causality and analysis is correct... then its just an adaptation. No different than any other adaptation our bodies make when we repeatedly force them to move (or not move) in a specific way.

I guess the question is... if this is an adaptation to allow you to make the best use of your footware then is it a bad thing? Changing it will make your footwear uncomfortable which will have chain effects up your limbs. Unless you plan on ditchng the footwear or finding footwear to accomodate your toes + cork? If you ditch the footwear and the adaptation is bad for barefoot walking it will adjust itself back. If you don't ditch the footwear we fall into the ... if it isn't broke, don't try to fix it. Take off your shoes and wiggle your toes occasionally. Do some cardinals and circles with them. I'm fairly sure that shoes do reduce your overall toe and foot strength by providing strucural support and saving your body from actually having to do the work. Do they change the shape of your feet? Likely. But is it a bad thing or a necessary adaptation for modern living?

Now... if we don't assume that their causalit and analysis is correct (which I never do for anything on the Internet without coraboration from sources that aren't trying to sell me something (including ideas))... then you just gotta wonder...

[Charlie]

I actually do have the climate down here to get away with wearing sandals most of the year, so finding open-toe footwear isn't really a problem. My feet are actually pretty good, not at all like those malformed ones. but a bit of weirdness doesn't bother me (hey when i was a yoga-freak i taught myself to vomit at will and squirt salt-water out out my nose) and if wearing a cork to bed could fix my toes even better, maybe i'd give it a go. On second thought, seeing as i don't really have any problems with my feet/toes/stride, that's probably just looking for trouble.

I was just wondering if these sort of skeletal (?) adaptations could be reversed ... or maybe its just expression of a yearning to get into body-modification -- I just thank the Maker that i haven't been captivated by the idea of penis bifurcation, like some do :-)

[Jrichardson]

Penis bifurcation... gives me the willies.



( :lol: )

[Charlie]

LOL :lol: !!!

[Arluk]

In my opinion: Yes a skeletal deformation can be reversed but it takes 7 years to complete the recovery. 7 years because that is how long it takes the body to rebuild the skeletal structure. It is a neat fact that every tissue in our body is replaced completely multiple times in our lifetime, the bones take approximately 7 years.

On the other hand: Mind over matter dicatates that it is probably possible to reshape your molecular structure faster than its typical cycles allow.

[Jrichardson]

What you see in the pics isn't necessarily a skeletal difference. The muscles and connective tissues of the foot have a LOT to do with it's shape at any given moment.

[Randell Waddell]

Is this really surprising though - please remember that the body is a Tensegrity - apply a localized force and the body will strive to re-direct/ re-distribute that force throughout the structure. Deformation will occur as per how how healthy the body is, and where "density" occurs, etc.

R. :D

[Matt Vierra]

this is a very interesting picture. I tried moving my big toes outward, but for some reason i can only manage to move my right toe. The encouraging point however, is that i was able to move my right big toe to the angle shown on the ape-man's foot. all my clubbell workouts are done barefoot, and i try to wear sandals often, but i neglect attention to moving my toes. how interesting is it that we go through life neglecting our own bodies! everywhere we have been, our toes have been, too, yet we treat them as if they are in the depths of outer space. Some people go so far as to have aversions to letting their toes be seen. They truly are a strange site: little buds of flesh sprouting from a main body. It's like the toes are little tentacles with their own mission of extending out from the foot. I'm not sure if i am fully grasping my own thoughts on the subject, but they are nonetheless interesting bodyparts. It seems like going without shoes should be a freedom guaranteed by the constitution, but then again every establishment can refuse service to anyone. Oh well, the shoeless movement may be left for hippies, indian reservations, and hermits. I support going barefoot as much as possible. Sorry if this seemed to turn into a humorous post, but they are merely my musings of shoeless philosophy.

[Randell Waddell]

Some space-cadet stimulus !!!!

When one considers the Body Tensegrity must "relate" to the ground through the feet, and the structure above is very dependant to a large degree to the quality of proprioceptor awareness etc through this area, it is important one does consider their relationship through here.

Hard to explain over the net, but I am basically saying / encouraging - please keep exploring and relating it to density (and other) of the fascia above, and quality of movement through / around these areas !!!!

Cheers
Randell. :D