stand up for REAL science

I'd long blamed morning heel pain on the fact that when I was a younger, lighter runner, I didn't bother to stretch much. It turns out that plantar fasciitis may instead have its origins in the bipedal habits of early humans!

As noted on p. 249 of Martini's Fundamentals of Anatomy and Physiology, Fourth Edition,

The elasticity of the talar arch absorbs the shocks that accompany sudden changes in weight loading. For example, the stresses that running or ballet dancing place on the toes are cushioned by the elasticity of this portion of the arch.

Blogger Moneduloides explains quite lucidly that among the primates, only we humans succumb to plantar fasciitis, that excruciating inflammation of the plantar fascia.

This is because the condition affects the pedal arch, a portion of our anatomy that is required for bipedal locomotion, a portion of our anatomy which is unique to humans within the order Primates. You see, during ambulation there are points in time at which we are effectively balancing on one foot (Up to, and during, the swing phase of the contralateral leg), and in this one foot the pedal arch serves to absorb some of the energy, the ground reaction force, and simultaneously accumulates passive elastic energy that is used for toe off.

From the paleontological evidence we find that the pedal arch is one of the earliest adaptations of humans to bipedal locomotion. As far back as 3.5mya at Laetoli in Tanzania are footprints which demonstrate the necessity of the pedal arch:

Moneduloides describes a newly-discovered means of curing plantar fasciitis, as opposed to just alleviating its pain. The new method seems to involve sticking needles into the fascia to produce more bleeding, which is supposed to help the fascia heal faster.

No thanks. I think I'll stick to stretching out my Achille's faithfully every morning instead.

Ed: spelling, format