Of feet and eyes

If you’ve been reading my blogs, you’ll quickly pick up on the fact that this is not the first time I bring up the link between the feet and the eyes. That being said, a recent study (this week’s study of the week) reconfirms the link between these two sensory organs that are largely responsible of the position of the body in space.

Not only is it that we don’t have to prove the importance of feet in posture, it’s important to point out that the main component of the foot for stabilization is the skin of the sole, as it is the skin of the sole that provides data to the brain so that motor areas can stabilize and move the body.

More precisely, it is the skin’s job to manage small oscillations while it is the muscles job to manage large oscillations.

So, when standing quiet, it is the skin of the foot that is most important. In movement, however, the role of the skin is to create stability so that the muscles can create movement.

So what about the connection of the foot with the eye? 

When vibrations are applied to have an impact on the muscles of the feet, subjects have the impression the target they are looking at is moving. This speaks of a link between the feet and the eyes! 

In the context of the study mentioned here, it was recorded that elevations of 3mm placed under the medial and external arches of the individual increased stability and decreased energy expenditure. 

To boot, these elevations, while stimulating the skin receptors of the feet also improved ocular convergence.

It is with all of this in mind that, in the context of Posturology, we stimulate feet and eyes in order to stabilize the body as efficiently as possible as to create movements that are just right!

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnhum.2016.00228/full