WHY WE CARE
Foot pain is often due to the inability of the foot's tissues
to adapt to the loads placed on them. Understanding
their function and relationships to each other helps us
refine our touch and more comprehensively support our
clients. From surface to deep, each tissue in the plantar
foot is pretty amazing. Combined as a team, however,
they allow our feet to do "shockingly" good things.
Notes
1. Bert Wynands et al., "Does Plantar Skin Abrasion Affect
Cutaneous Mechanosensation?" Physiological Reports 10,
no. 20 (2022): e15479, https://doi.org/10.14814/phy2.15479.
2. Chueh-Hung Wu et al., "Altered Stiffness of Microchamber
and Macrochamber Layers in the Aged Heel Pad: Shear
Wave Ultrasound Elastography Evaluation," Journal
of the Formosan Medical Association 117, no. 5 (2017):
434–39, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfma.2017.05.006.
3. Carla Stecco, Functional Atlas of the Human Fascial
System (Edinburgh: Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2015).
4. Mike Benjamin, "The Fascia of the Limbs and Back—A
Review," Journal of Anatomy 214, no. 1 (2009): 1–18,
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.01011.x.
5. P. G. Pavan et al., "Investigation of the Mechanical
Properties of the Plantar Aponeurosis," Surgical and
Radiologic Anatomy (English ed.) 33, no. 10 (2011):
905–11, https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-011-0873-z.
Nicole Trombley and Rachelle Clauson, massage
therapists, authors, teachers, and co-directors of
AnatomySCAPES, lead you beneath the surface in their
highly interactive Dissection Lab Workshops in San Diego,
California, and online mini courses for hands-on professionals.
They help you discover what real anatomy looks and feels
like, and how it moves and relates to its surroundings. Join
them in San Diego for an upcoming two-day immersive
workshop, "Journey into the Matrix," May 3–4, 2023, where
they will take you on a deep dive into the human fascial
system. Find out more at anatomyscapes.com/matrix.
L i s te n to T h e A B M P Po d c a s t a t a b m p.co m /p o d c a s t s o r w h e reve r yo u a cce s s yo u r favo r i te p o d c a s t s 69
Resources
Benjamin, Mike. "The Fascia of the Limbs and Back—A
Review." Journal of Anatomy 214, no. 1 (2009): 1–18.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7580.2008.01011.x.
Chanda, Arnab, and Stephen McClain. "Mechanical
Modeling of Healthy and Diseased Calcaneal Fat
Pad Surrogates." Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) 4,
no. 1 (2019): 1. https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/
PMC6477669.
Earls, James. Understanding the Human Foot:
An Illustrated Guide to Form and Function for
Practitioners. Chichester, England: Lotus Publishing,
2021.
Jahss, M. H. et al. "Investigations Into the Fat Pads of the
Sole of the Foot: Anatomy and Histology." Foot & Ankle
13 (5), (1992): 233–42. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/1624186.
Natali, Arturo N., Piero G. Pavan, and Carla Stecco. "A
Constitutive Model for the Mechanical Characterization
of the Plantar Fascia." Connective Tissue Research
51, no. 5 (2010): 337–46. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/20175692/.
Pavan, P. G. et al. "Investigation of the Mechanical
Properties of the Plantar Aponeurosis." Surgical and
Radiologic Anatomy (English ed.) 33, no. 10 (2011): 905–
11. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00276-011-0873-z.
Ross, M. H., and W. Pawlina. Histology: A Text and Atlas:
With Correlated Cell and Molecular Biology (6th ed.).
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2010.
Stecco, Carla. Functional Atlas of the Human Fascial
System. Churchill Livingstone Elsevier, 2015.
Swenson, O. et al. "Specialized Keratin Expression
Pattern in Human Ridged Skin as an Adaptation to
High Physical Stress." British Journal of Dermatology
139, no. 5 (1998): 767–75. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.
gov/9892940.
Welte, Lauren et al. "The Extensibility of the Plantar
Fascia Infl uences the Windlass Mechanism During
Human Running." Proceedings of the Royal Society.
B, Biological Sciences 288, no. 1943 (2021): 20202095.
https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2020.2095.
Wu, Chueh-Hung et al. "Altered Stiffness of
Microchamber and Macrochamber Layers in the
Aged Heel Pad: Shear Wave Ultrasound Elastography
Evaluation." Journal of the Formosan Medical
Association 117, no. 5 (2017): 434–39. https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.jfma.2017.05.006.
Wynands, Bert et al. "Does Plantar Skin Abrasion Affect
Cutaneous Mechanosensation?" Physiological Reports
10, no. 20 (2022): e15479. https://doi.org/10.14814/
phy2.15479.
ANATOMY FOR TOUCH
VIDEO: "PLANTAR FOOT"
1. Open your camera
2. Scan the code
3. Tap on notification
4. Watch!
Download the authors' Plantar Foot Activity
Book at abmp.com/anatomy.
