Podiatrist · Specialist in Biomechanics · Founder of VOLKAN
"Before a muscle moves, the brain needs to know where the body is."
Walking seems simple… but it is not
Do a test.
Get up from the chair and walk a few meters.
You probably won't think about where to place each foot.
You won't calculate how much the ankle should flex.
Nor will you consciously decide which muscles should activate.
You will simply walk.
The surprising thing is that, while you don't think about any of that, your nervous system is making hundreds of decisions every second.
Walking is one of the most automatic movements we perform, but also one of the most complex.
And it all starts with a question that the brain continuously answers:
What is happening under my feet?
The feet are much more than a structure to support oneself
When we think of a foot, we usually imagine bones, muscles, and tendons.
But there is another equally important function.
To inform.
The sole of the foot is filled with nerve receptors capable of detecting pressure, the texture of the ground, the slope of the terrain, the vibration, or small changes in balance.
Each step generates a huge amount of information that travels to the brain.
Thanks to it, the body can anticipate.
If the ground changes, it modifies posture.
If it detects a loss of stability, it reorganizes the musculature.
If it finds an uneven surface, it adapts the way of walking.
Everything happens in milliseconds and without you having to think about it.
That's why walking feels so natural.
Because the nervous system works constantly behind the scenes.
The brain does not control. It interprets.
There is a widely held idea: we believe that the brain simply sends orders.
In reality, it first listens.
We can imagine it as the conductor of an orchestra.
It does not play all the instruments, but it needs to listen to each musician before deciding how the ensemble should sound.
The same happens with movement.
The brain interprets the information it receives from the eyes, the inner ear, the joints, and of course, from the feet.
The better that information is, the more likely it is to organize efficient movement.
That's why, in biomechanics, as important as strength is the quality of the information that the nervous system receives.
What role does footwear play?
Here comes a logical question.
If the foot picks up information from the ground…
Can footwear modify that information?
The answer is yes.
Each shoe changes, to a greater or lesser extent, the way the foot comes into contact with the ground.
The stiffness of the sole.
Its thickness.
The width of the last.
The ability to flex.
All of this influences how the foot interacts with the environment.
From a biomechanical perspective, barefoot footwear does not aim to "activate" the brain nor does it have special properties.
Its goal is much simpler.
To try to interfere as little as possible in that conversation between the foot and the ground.
That does not mean it is the best option for everyone or for any situation.
It means that, when indicated, it can allow the foot to participate in a more natural way in movement.
What I see every day in consultation
There are patients who arrive convinced that they need to strengthen their feet.
However, when we analyze how they walk, we discover that the problem is not always strength.
Sometimes the body has simply stopped receiving certain stimuli over the years.
After a progressive adaptation, some patients start to notice sensations that they haven't felt in a long time: how their toes work, how the support changes on different surfaces, or how their feet react to the terrain.
It's not that they have developed a "new sense".
It's that they have started to pay attention to information that was always there.
And when the nervous system has more useful information, it can also make better decisions.
What you can do starting today
The next time you walk, take a few minutes to observe.
How do you place your foot?
Do you feel differences between walking on grass, sand, or a sidewalk?
Can your toes move freely inside the footwear?
It's not about analyzing every step.
It is about recovering the curiosity for something you have been doing since you were a child.
Because understanding movement often starts by feeling it again.
The most important idea
The body cannot adapt to what it does not perceive.
The better information the nervous system receives, the more resources it has to organize movement.
The feet do not just support us.
They also help the brain understand the world we walk on.
A question to reflect on
If your feet could send more information to the brain with each step…
Do you think that could change the way you move?
In the next article…
If the body is so adaptable, a new question arises.
Why do some people develop pain and others do not, even when doing the exact same activity?
The answer will lead us to discover one of the most important principles of biomechanics: the capacity for adaptation.