Podiatrist · Specialist in Biomechanics · Founder of VOLKAN
"Stability is not about preventing movement. It is about being able to control it when it occurs."
"I am looking for a shoe that holds me well"
It is a very common request.
Many people associate the feeling of being well-supported with the idea of walking more securely.
And it is understandable.
When a shoe hugs the foot firmly, it conveys an immediate sense of control.
It seems that everything is under control.
But the feeling and reality are not always the same thing.
Because one thing is to feel supported.
And another very different thing is to have developed a greater ability to stabilize the body.
What does it really mean to be stable?
If we asked ten people what they understand by stability, probably most would respond with something similar.
"Not to move."
"To be firm."
"Not to lose balance."
However, modern biomechanics proposes a different idea.
Stability is not about remaining still.
It is about continuing to control movement while everything changes.
When we walk, the center of gravity shifts continuously.
Each step is, in fact, a small controlled fall.
The body is never completely still.
It is making thousands of tiny adjustments to keep moving forward.
Being stable does not mean eliminating those oscillations.
It means knowing how to manage them.
Stability comes from movement.
There is an interesting paradox.
The more we try to completely immobilize a joint, the fewer opportunities the nervous system has to learn to control it.
It's similar to learning to ride a bike.
If someone holds us continuously, we will never fully develop the skills necessary to maintain balance by ourselves.
Learning occurs when the organism has to solve small challenges.
The same happens with movement.
Stability mechanisms improve when they participate.
Not when they remain inactive.
Holding can be useful.
This does not mean that stabilizing elements are unnecessary.
Far from it.
After a recent sprain.
During certain pathologies.
In some neurological diseases.
Or in very specific situations.
Greater support can be an extraordinarily useful tool.
It can reduce the load on certain tissues.
It can increase the feeling of safety.
It can facilitate a progressive recovery.
The problem arises when we confuse a temporary strategy with a permanent solution.
Because the goal should never be to depend on assistance forever.
The goal should be to regain, whenever possible, the organism's ability to stabilize itself.
The brain also participates in stability
Many people imagine stability as an exclusively muscular issue.
But the strength is just part of the story.
Before a muscle acts, the brain needs to know what is happening.
It needs information.
Where is the foot?
How does the ground respond?
Where does the body move?
How much balance is being lost?
All that information arrives in just a few fractions of a second.
And it is then when the nervous system organizes the response.
That’s why stability does not solely depend on having strong muscles.
It depends on the quality of the information and the speed with which the organism knows how to use it.
What does this have to do with barefoot?
A lot.
One of the characteristics of minimalist footwear is that it usually allows for a greater freedom of movement of the foot.
That does not automatically make the user a more stable person.
But it can offer more opportunities for the nervous system to actively participate in movement control.
As long as that exposure is progressive and appropriate.
Because stability does not appear just by wearing a specific type of footwear.
It appears when the organism learns to manage the information it receives.
Barefoot can promote that learning.
But it cannot replace it.
What I see every day in consultation
There are patients who arrive convinced that they need a shoe with more control.
And, in some cases, they are right.
But many times they discover something unexpected.
As they improve their strength, balance, and confidence, they stop needing the same level of support that once seemed essential.
Not because the shoe has changed.
But because the body has changed.
That constantly reminds me that the best stability is not the one provided by an object.
It is the one that the body is capable of building.
What you can do starting today
The next time you think about stability, try changing the question.
Instead of asking yourself:
"What can this shoe do for me?"
Ask yourself:
"What abilities can my body develop to rely a little less on that help?"
It won’t always be possible.
It won’t always be necessary.
But when the body regains some of that ability, it gains something more important than stability.
It gains autonomy.
🔬 In a sentence
Stability is not about preventing movement, but about having the necessary resources to control it when the environment changes.
The most important idea
True stability cannot be placed inside a shoe.
It is built through the interaction between the nervous system, the muscles, the senses, experience, and the environment.
External assistance can be extraordinarily useful when there is a specific need.
But the objective, as long as circumstances allow, should be to encourage the organism itself to take on that work again.
Because feeling supported does not always mean being more stable.
The most solid stability is the one that travels with you, regardless of the footwear you are wearing.
A question to reflect on
Think of a situation where you felt particularly secure while walking.
Did the security really come from the footwear… or from the confidence you had in your body's ability to respond if something unexpected happened?
In the next article…
If stability has generated many misunderstandings, there is another concept of footwear that is also often oversimplified.
The drop.
Why do some shoes raise the heel several millimeters?
What happens when that difference disappears?
Is a high drop or a zero drop better?
In the next chapter we will discover that the drop is neither an enemy nor a savior. It is a biomechanical variable that modifies how loads are distributed, how the muscles work, and how the body perceives the movement.
And, once again, we will see that the right question is not which is the best.
The question is for whom, for what, and at what moment.