Podiatrist · Specialist in Biomechanics · Founder of VOLKAN
"When the body seeks balance, it doesn't ask which structure is right. It uses all the information it has available."
"Why are you looking into my eyes if my foot hurts?"
I remember perfectly the expression of a patient.
He had come because his heel had been hurting for several months.
After examining his foot, I asked him to walk a few meters.
I observed his posture.
His way of turning.
His balance.
I even conducted some tests related to cervical mobility and visual control.
He smiled and asked me:
—Excuse me... but didn't I come because my foot hurts?
Yes.
Precisely for that.
Because a foot never works alone.
The body functions as a single system.
We have the habit of dividing the body into small pieces.
The foot.
The knee.
The hip.
The back.
The jaw.
The eyes.
But the brain does not organize movement that way.
For it, everything is part of the same system.
Every step we take is the result of thousands of signals coming from different parts of the body.
There is no single "center of balance."
There is a constant integration of information.
And the better that integration is, the more efficient the movement tends to be.
Postural captors: the body's "antennas"
To orient oneself in space, the nervous system uses information from different systems that act as true postural captors.
The feet inform about contact with the ground and the distribution of loads.
The eyes provide references about the environment and the position of the body in relation to space.
The vestibular system, located in the inner ear, informs about the movements and orientation of the head.
The stomatognathic system —which includes the jaw, occlusion, and the associated musculature— can also influence the organization of movement in certain individuals.
And there is one captor that is talked about much less, but that we see every day in consultation.
The mind.
Stress.
Anxiety.
Lack of rest.
Fear of movement.
All of this can modify muscle tone, the way of walking, and the strategies that the organism uses to feel safe.
The brain does not analyze each system separately.
It integrates all that information to answer a single question:
What is the best strategy to maintain balance and move safely at this moment?
Adapting does not always mean moving better
Here an important nuance appears.
The body always tries to adapt.
But adapting does not necessarily mean doing it in the most efficient way.
A visual limitation.
A vestibular alteration.
A jaw pain.
An injury in the foot.
Or even a situation of sustained stress.
All these factors can cause the nervous system to reorganize posture and movement to protect us or maintain balance.
Many times that strategy proves useful.
Other times, when it is maintained for too long, it can lead to overloads or discomfort in other areas.
That’s why, in consultation, we do not only ask where it hurts.
We ask what is the body trying to resolve with that movement strategy.
What does this have to do with barefoot?
A lot.
The foot is one of the main points of contact with the environment.
It is a constant source of information for the nervous system.
Footwear that respects the mobility of the foot and allows for a more natural interaction with the ground can help that information arrive with less interference.
But it would be a mistake to think that footwear, by itself, will solve any postural problem.
If there are other relevant factors —such as visual, vestibular, jaw, or emotional alterations— they should also be assessed when the clinical situation requires it.
In biomechanics, we do not seek a single cause.
We seek to understand how all the pieces interact.
What I see every day in consultation
One of the biggest lessons that the clinic has taught me is that the body rarely has isolated problems.
There are patients whose pain improves when they regain mobility in their foot.
Others need to work on balance.
Sometimes, collaboration with dentists, physiotherapists, optometrists, trainers, or psychologists is part of the process.
Not because each professional treats a different piece.
But because we are all trying to help the same organism.
When we understand that, we stop looking at a foot.
We start to look at a person.
And that change transforms the way we do biomechanics.
What you can do starting today
If you have been dealing with a discomfort that isn't improving, try to broaden your perspective.
Ask yourself:
How am I sleeping?
How am I managing stress?
How is my balance?
How am I moving during the day?
What information is my body using to organize my posture?
Many times, the answer is not in a single structure.
It is in the relationship between several of them.
🔬 In a sentence
The body does not organize posture from a single place. It builds it by integrating information from multiple systems.
The most important idea
In our clinic, we do not treat feet.
We do not treat knees.
We do not treat backs.
We treat people who move.
And understanding how the different systems of the body interact helps us find more complete and tailored solutions for each case.
The biomechanics starts in the feet.
But it never ends there.
A question to reflect on
The next time you think about your posture, ask yourself:
Am I only looking at the place where I feel discomfort… or am I trying to understand how my whole body is organized to maintain equilibrium?
In the next article…
If the brain continuously uses information from the feet to organize movement, a new question arises.
What happens when we stop using a part of the foot for years?
We will discover why the toes play a much more important role than we usually imagine and how their function influences balance, stability, and the way we walk.