A study by researchers at Boston University found that one in 13 humans have flexible, ape-like feet.
For their study, researchers asked 398 individuals who were visiting the Boston Museum of Science to walk barefoot through the museum. The team of scientists had installed mechanized carpets throughout the hallways to collect foot-strike pattern data.
After they reviewed the data, researchers noted that 30 individuals exhibited a different foot-strike pattern than the rest of the participants. These individuals demonstrated a flexible flatfoot, while the overwhelming majority of museumgoers had rigid feet. The participants with flexible feet did not realize they had this flexibility, and their was no observable difference in the speed at which both groups walked.
A flexible foot is a common characteristic in primates who rely on their feet to help climb trees. Humans tend to have rigid feet in order to support essential functions like walking, running, and balance. Researchers aren’t certain how humans developed rigid feet over time, but they hope their study can help historians re-examine the evolutionary process.
“The research has implications for how we interpret the fossil record and the evolution of these features, said Tracy Kivell, a paleoanthropologist at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. “It’s good to understand the normal variation among humans before we go figure out what it means in the fossil record.
Dr. Silverman comments
Many orthopedic surgeons play sports or used to be active in competitive sports. We commonly retain a competitive streak that percolates into our daily lives. Hand surgeons make fun of foot surgeons, calling the foot a “dumb hand.” Foot surgeons respond with the truism, “The foot is more evolved and the hand is primitive, even monkeys have one.”
As one reviews the evolutionary development of a prehensile hand (able to grasp) to the more rigid structure of the foot, which can tolerate standing and walking, the truth of this statement becomes clear. The foot has become a very specialized structure in response to evolutionary pressure. But, that specialization leaves room for variability.
The variable flexibility in the foot explains why some people have a normal flatfoot and others have a normal but more rigid high arch. Both types of feet belong to people who can live out long and fruitful lives without troubles. Problems develop when a person’s muscular structure is weakened and the foot is asked to do more than it was designed to do.
A person with a flexible flatfoot will not accomplish long distance running on flat surfaces. Their muscles will fatigue and they will develop ligamentous overload, strains, and tendon tears. Similarly, a person with a rigid arch cannot run well on uneven ground. They can’t accommodate to the terrain easily, and they suffer ankle sprains and a variety of acute and chronic stress fractures.
But, they are both normal.
Like everything in life, you need to look for what you are naturally good at and work to your strengths. Don’t fight nature, embrace it. Stop listening to those who tell you, “You are an over-pronator,” or “You have too high of an arch.” In many circumstances, they are wrong. Supportive shoes, rigid rocker-bottoms soles, strong heel counters, over the counter and custom arch supports have no place in 95% of normal daily activity. While to some this may sound counter-intuitive, and to others even downright offensive, I say, “We didn’t come out of the womb with shoes and custom inserts.” The natural condition should be the goal.
Related source: International Business Times