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Post date: Feb 5, 2017 1:42:33 AM
Return to the Twelve Running Standards
(04) Standard Number One: Neutral Feet
Question: Are your feet habitually in a neutral position? Neutral feet means that when we are standing walking or running, our feet are straight. They aren’t pigeon toed or splayed out like a duck. They’re straight.
Key Motivations - Maintaining the feet at neutral sets the body up for efficient movement. When the body moves the way it was intended to move, stress that leads to injuries and worn out joints is reduced.
Briefing:
Running is a series of jumps. With each jump the foot makes contact with the ground (the foot strike.) In that instant the body seeks stability. If unstable we fall. The most stable position for the foot is neutral. It is the way the musculoskeletal system is intended to land on the ground when running.
When we don’t land with a neutral foot we need to make compromises in mechanics to generate stability which typically takes a toll on the joints. Run frequently with poor mechanics and things will begin to wear.out.
Neutral foot position is a ready for action position that puts the body at it’s highest capacity for performance. The body is at it’s most powerful when a neutral spine is adopted by squeezing the glutes (activating the hips) and tightening up the belly. The belly pulls the ribs down so the trunk is energized into a single unit. The final piece of a neutral spine is maintaining the head aligned with the spine.
To begin making a neutral foot a habit, start by minding daily habits. Align the feet throughout the day. Everytime you look down and the feet aren’t straight, adjust them. Is the spine neutral? If not, take a deep breath and organize the spine. Start by squeezing the glutes and belly, then ramp up the head.
This standard is mostly about constant vigilance (although any soft-tissue problems working against you may need to be cleared up). Maintaining a neutral foot and spine position throughout the day cannot be an afterthought and requires daily practice.
This standard is the first step in taking responsibility for the health of the feet and breaking away from the idea that to be able to run, all we need is to sneak in our daily workout and outsource our physical problems to whatever health insurance will cover. It also gets us away from the idea that footwear is the proper medical intervention.
The feet are composed of a myriad of muscles, bones and connective tissues that, when healthy, empower and activate into the steel springs that the arches are meant to be.
Modern living is unkind to neutral feet. Long periods of sitting atrophy the muscles and joints. Modern shoes jack up the heels and weaken the heel cords. The rolled shoulder, slumped head posture adopted to read our phones is a debilitating practice that helps to weaken the feet and collapse the arches.
A shoe designed to reduce motion only deepens the problem. To avoid being permanently sidelined reading magazines on an elliptical machine (as opposed to running) don’t depend on running shoes, orthotics, ibuprofen and heel striking to continue running in the short term. A shoe intervention works like a cast. Inside this cast the incredible facilities of the foott erode, atrophy and weaken, rendering them lifeless.
Is the stability running shoe a solution? - Today’s running shoes can create more problems than they solve. There's no valid injury prevention research behind motion control devices, rear foot control design, foot bridges etc. In spite of the three billion dollar per year. claims of the running industry, almost all runners get injured at least once per/yr.
The arch: A fundamental misunderstanding - The arch is a non weight bearing surface. The arch is a combo of arches: the medial longitudinal, the lateral longitudinal arch and the anterior transverse arch. This structure is analogous to a suspension bridge. The right choice is to revive the natural technologies we were born with. Begin by adhering to the neutral foot standard.
Achieving Neutral Foot - The first order is mindfulness. Stand up and check the position of the feet. They should be straight, parallel to one another, shoulder width apart and directly under the hips. This is neutral foot position. Adopt this position not only when running but at all times.
In neutral position, the butt squeezes to provide the entire system with torque, rotating the hips to be able to run, jump, sprint, land, lift and move with more power. The arches can turn on when the feet are in neutral position, the most stable, and the body is now prepped to move safely.
Neutral feet start in the trunk. Go after the tight hips. Recommended exercises for neutral feet.
The Truth: Barefoot Power, High Heels, and Flip Flops - Artificial stiffness in the ankle is created by both high heels and flip flops. The wearer begins to walk as if the ankles are stiff and the feet turn out. Walking through collapsed arches and around the big toe results in destroyed arches, undue torsion on the plantar fascia, oblique loading on the heel cords, impinged ankles, big bunions and valgus knees.
Don’t wear flip flops or heels - Barefoot cultures have beautiful arches and strong feet. The ankles and feet are hidden pools of physical reserve. Utilize them.
“Best defense: no be there.” -- Mr. Miyagi
Brace Yourself - Perform the bracing sequence to turn the trunk on so that it can light up neutral with power.
Three types of spinal position:
Cultivate neutral spine - This is an invaluable discipline for all people. By maintaining neutral spine and feet, this foundational position can be translated into running. Midline stabilization is the primary link in the flow of power in the posterior chain. When running in neutral position, not only is the back protected, but there is greater activation and use of the large muscles of the hips and hamstrings.
In a broken position the posterior chain is, in effect, shut down and the body is open up to an assortment of injuries.
Making sure to stand, walk and run with neutral feet and spine and to periodically ‘reset’ throughout the day is building the training into the day. Going about the daily routines, train to be a better runner, a better mover. The more practice done outside the workout, the more likely neutral foot will be maintained during the workout.
Sloppy foot positions are expressions of sloppy spine positions. Execution of the bracing technique draws us into a good position.
Steps
Squeeze the butt the way a ballet dancer does, activating the glutes. This sets the pelvis in neutral.
Pull the rib cage down into neutral position, breathe in through the diaphragm, tighten the abs and then slowly exhale. The pelvis and ribs are two large bowls filled to the brim with water. Both need to be balanced, so not one drop is spilled. The ab muscles lock the position of the pelvis and rib cage. Squeezing the glutes provides the foundation and bracing the abs locks it in place.
Set the head in neutral position, then raise the arms out to the side and pull the shoulders back into external rotation. Gaze forward, keeping the hips, shoulders and head in neutral position. This completes the picture. Dial down the glute and ab tension to about 20% power. Running with 20-35% of these muscles turned on has no effect on breathing.
Do you walk like a duck? Stability bleeds away when the feet are turned out duck style. The body has to work extra hard with each step to compensate. The arch of the foot flattens, the knee caves in, power is lost and the stresses on the knee and the soft tissues of the joint begin to pile up. This inward system collapse of the aches, ankles and knees when running with duck feet against the midline of the body is a deformity known as valgus movement. This exerts shearing forces throughout the joints and soft tissues. Additionally, the quadricep ligament gets pulled off the axis and is no longer perpendicular to the knee cap. Multiply that by the number steps taken during a run or a year of running to develop a clearer understanding of the impact of alignment on the joints.
Runner to runner - Learn how to squat safely, not just for squats but for sitting, standing, walking and running. Learning to squat properly requires first leanring how to brace the spine and keep it braced. Bracing the spine while running allows the power connection between the legs and the core to be felt. Learning to adopt the bracing sequence provides the platform to squat loads well over bodyweight without any struggle.
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