Educational Articles

Ligaments surround joints, including the toe joints, and help form joint capsules. Joint capsules help protect the joints and allow them to function properly. Capsulitis—inflammation of a joint capsule—is a common problem in certain parts of the body, especially the shoulders and feet, and it may cause significant discomfort. This health problem can, over time, lead to toe dislocation if it’s not treated properly.... Read more

Outer foot pain is a symptom that may occur in runners, especially runners who record high weekly mileage or who use conventional athletic footwear. Numerous factors may contribute to outer foot pain in runners, including running shoes that contain injurious design features, excessive training (i.e., overtraining), an insufficient warm-up, and poor nutrition. Outer foot pain, while potentially debilitating for runners, typically responds to natural, noninvasive, and conservative... Read more

“What shoes are best for my child?” As a physician with a specialty in the natural treatment of foot problems, this is a question I often hear. It’s a question posed by concerned parents who, themselves, are afflicted with foot ailments such as bunions, hammertoes, fungal toenails, and plantar fasciosis. Kids, as you well know, spend a lot of time on their feet, walking, running, and playing.... Read more

The human circulatory system is made up of a pump (the heart) and a delivery system (the blood vessels) for transporting blood throughout the body. The two types of circulation in the body are called systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation. Systemic circulation is responsible for bringing fresh, oxygen-rich blood to all the body’s tissues and organs, while pulmonary circulation is responsible for carrying oxygen-depleted blood from the... Read more

This is the first installment in what will be an ongoing series of articles examining classic research studies in the field of natural foot form and function. Many of the articles that will be reviewed here were published in reputable journals that still exist today. Many of these studies, which range in size and design, were published over 40, 50, 60, or, in this case, 100 years... Read more

This is the second installment in our ongoing series in which we examine foot-related research studies published many decades ago. This study, conducted by Earl T. Engle and Dudley J. Morton, is called “Notes on Foot Disorders Among Natives of the Belgian Congo” and was published in The Journal of Bone & Joint Surgery in 1931. The researchers were part of an Africa expedition sponsored by Columbia... Read more

This is the third installment in our ongoing series in which we examine foot-related research studies published many decades ago. This study, conducted by Clifford S. James, is called “Footprints and Feet of Natives of the Solomon Islands” and was published in The Lancet in 1939. The researcher, James, worked in the Solomon Islands region for over a decade. This study was conducted out of the Melanesian... Read more

Keeping your feet and toes warm during the cold winter months is an important consideration, and so too is keeping your feet and toes healthy and pain-free. Winter is no time to forget about natural foot health principles, and the footwear you use during the cold months should receive the same high scrutiny your warm-weather footwear receives. In this post, we'll discuss... Read more

Foot binding, the practice of tightly binding the foot to stifle foot growth, was performed on young, upper class girls in China to make their movements and gait appear more feminine, and it was practiced even well into the 20th century. This practice caused extreme pain and long-term disabilities in those who underwent the procedure, and some elderly individuals in China may still suffer from the debilitating... Read more

Thick, hard skin can occur on any part of the foot. However, corns and calluses are particularly common on the toes, and they are caused by prolonged pressure or friction on the skin. Though not life-threatening, corns and calluses are often unsightly and may cause pain or disability when the skin buildup gets too thick or causes pressure on sensitive parts of the foot. A corn is... Read more