When we think of POSTURE, many of us will have thoughts of rolling back our shoulders, standing with a proud chest and pulling in through our core to stand up tall. But what if posture really begins at our feet?
Whenever we think about posture, we want to begin with our ability to balance and stand in an upright postural position.
The Plantar Fascia is a piece of connective tissue that runs from our calcaneous (heel) bone along the bottom of our foot to the bases of our toes and plays an important role in allowing us to stay upright and balanced in gravity.
As we stand, the weight of our bodies can begin to compress our feet and we experience a degree of postural sway, flattening the arches of the foot and putting tension into the Plantar Fascia. This tension in the Plantar Fascia in turn helps to pull the toes down into the ground, increasing our connection to the floor and aiding balance. This gives us increased toe "purchase" aka increasing the surface area we have in contact with the ground.
This mechanism is called the Reverse Windlass Mechanism and is one of many postural mechanisms that allows us to balance and stand upright in gravity.
The Reverse Windlass Mechanism helps to push our toes into the ground, increasing the connection of the body to the surface and aiding balance
This action is why those whose jobs involve standing for long periods of time can become suscptible to Plantar Fasciitis - inflammation of the Plantar Fascisa - due to the consistent tension being put on that connective tissue when we stand.
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