Is lack of arch recoil more important than over pronation?

Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.

Is lack of adequate arch recoil during gait as important or even more important than the degree of pronation?

Recently, Welte, Rainbow et al demonstrate that lack of arch recoil during gait can lead to a tibia which "tilts to far fowards during late stance " , my words, and "can adversely affect the entire kinetic chain, foot to head" again my words.

This piece of work may provided the key to improving many of the skeletal problems encountered by health care professionals.

So how do you improve arch recoil ?

1
Prevent the foot from getting into a very deep pronation which it can't easily get out of , so perhaps some form of arch support. (A bit like half squats rather than full depth )

2
Strengthen the tissues that assist with arch recoil . The intrinsic foot muscles would be the obvious target here . So we are looking at muscle which span the full arch or cross at least one joint in the medial arch of the foot.
These would include abductor hallucis, adductor hallucis , flexor digitorum brevis, flexor hallucis brevis etc

3
Improve arch flexibility esp at cuneonavicular joint.

Note . IMO it is important that the toe flexors become properly active at heel off . So, more retro shoes with reduced toe spring and flexible soles.

If you have PFP it may well be related to lack of arch recoil and excessive "tibial tilt" . Perhaps some running styles are effective at reducing injury because they mitigate the limitations of poor arch recoil.

Welte et al https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fbioe.2023.1155439/full

 

Research shows that if we move from a modern shoe with a stiff sole and a toe spring, to a shoe without these features, the toe flexor power will get increase by about 60% . In all likelihood the foot will go back to its previous strength levels if the shoes are swapped back.

It seems logical that if we wish the intrinsics to contribute more to reducing stress in the plantar fascia, and facilitate arch recoil, we need to strengthen the intrinsics and encourage them to activate. Modern shoes likely reduce intrinsic activity regardless of starting strength.

IMO, more minimal shoes, like deck shoes, will encourage the toes to press down more during gait, which will help support the medial longitudinal arch and aid arch recoil.

 

The intrinsic foot muscles will contribute to arch recoil dependent on their strength and degree of activation . It seems fair to assume that arch recoil does not lead to strengthening of the intrinsics, in and of itself.

Tasks other than arch recoil strengthen the intrinsics which contribute to recoil. Likely IMO , weak intrinsics> less recoil> increased tibial tilt> alternative gait strategies> skeletal pain over time esp with runners.