Understanding the Human Foot

Human Foot - An illustrated Guide to Form and Function for Practitioners

By James Earls MSc.

RRP £21.99 Paperback

Published by Lotus Publishing, 2021. www.lotuspublishing.co.uk

ISBN978-1-913088-26-2

Reviewed by Beverley Wright FInstChP, FHEA, MSc, MBA.

James Earle has rendered an invaluable service with this superb book which should be essential reading for health professionals, practitioners, and therapists. I cannot recommend this highly enough.

The author has trawled through the history of early homo sapiens and re-unearthed the origins of the anatomy of the human foot, its structure and function through its evolutionary stages. The human foot opens a lot of intrigue and mystery, where the author makes the transition of the feet’s evolutionary history very interesting. Unlike some anatomy books that can be a mystery unto themselves, as the author remarks the frustration of not completely understanding anatomy and biomechanics from the many and various anatomy textbooks available. Luckily, this book reveals foot anatomy from the perceptions and findings of Dr Morton (1935) and the wildly held misconceptions of the ‘science story’ of the foot; to discover and comprehend the evolutionary processes of the human foot. Fast forward a few million years, passing through evolution and the evolving foot. The shape of bone and other bone and soft tissue structures of the body that transitioned through time from our early ancestors the Australopithecus afarensis (tree climbing hominids), towards obligate bipedalism and human locomotion of the homo erectus and homo sapiens. It is hardly surprising, perhaps, that ‘each mammals foot has adapted to the ecology in which it is situated’ (p.185), which the author has eloquently stated within the pages of this exciting and informative treatise. The author manages to go deeper and deeper explaining the anatomy, foot structure, bones, soft tissues, and functions of the foot without it being a painful process for the individual to learn and understand foot and leg anatomy. It is a complete guide to the anatomy and biomechanics of the foot. The wealth of colourful illustrations provides a deep insight, to support the evaluation and assessments of the foot. The books approach and the structure of the content is supporting the authors own learning style and the way he would have liked to have studied anatomy. This is no dry tome; because of the inclusion of how to assess problematic structural and functional issues related to the foot and lower leg. Chapter eight is written by the author with Mark Parfitt-Jones, which draws together all the chapters on foot and leg anatomy. This provides a solid foundation for a greater understanding of the foot. The authors holistic approach considers the actions of the gait and how the bones and soft tissue elements of ligaments, extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the foot and lower leg, have an impact on the body as a whole. This allows for evaluation, application, and practical assessments, incorporated within this chapter. Then chapter nine, written by Lucy Wintle, contributes an invaluable portrayal of corrective exercises for foot stabilisation, strengthening and mobilisation. Wintle’s depth of knowledge in functional anatomy, with two decades of experience in human movement; support the easily explained exercises, which are appropriately modelled and demonstrated by Wintle in the accompanying photographs. The last chapter in this gem of a book, chapter ten’s ‘Designed for Life’, is dedicated to the shoes we wear that encompass the feet for the rituals of fashion, protection, running, and walking, etc. The importance of understanding footwear, the shoes anatomy, and right fit for the feet, including shoe lacing for the various foot types. This book with over 130 references and other resources, describes in detail the wealth of information that has contributed to this treatise of anatomy and human locomotion. Overall, this is an excellent textbook, well written and easy to understand. It will certainly further health professionals, practitioners, and therapists’ knowledge and understanding of the anatomy and biomechanics of the foot. This paperback book can be found much cheaper online with the Kindle version also available, along with other books by the author.

AUTHORS PROFILE

JAMES EARLS, MSc., is a writer, lecturer, and bodywork practitioner specializing in functional movement and structural integration. He is the director of Born to Move, an education platform teaching real-life anatomy for movement and manual therapists, and he is popular presenter at conferences and workshops around the world.

Earls is the co-author, with Thomas Myers, of Fascial Release for Structural Balance and Born to Walk. He also writes regularly for professional magazines and journals; and has collaborated with many authors in the production of their titles.