Rothbart's Foot

We call our website back2feet.net yet it is really all about Rothbart's Foot Structure.  Here is why.

Morton's Foot or Morton's Toe is well known and very easy to recognize, and, just about everyone has it.  You don't have to have Morton's Foot to have Rothbart's Foot Structure, but it seems everyone who has Morton's Foot Structure also has Rothbart's Foot Structure. 

It is over 70 years since, Dr. Dudley Morton, MD, recognized the prevalence of the short first metatarsal.  He decided that it compromised the gait, but he didn't discover the full picture.

50 years later, Dr. Brian A. Rothbart, DPM, PhD, discovered that when the ankle is aligned close to its optimal functional position to best support the body, the big toe is elevated.   When the foot is in it's optimal position the big toe is not weight bearing.  For many people it doesn't even touch the ground. 

The first metatarsal bone is not only short, but the entire first ray is rotated and elevated. 

When the foot is close to its neutral position, your lower extremities are in alignment.  That means the knees are moving over the top of the feet.  There are minimal rotational forces across the knee and the pelvis is not forced into a forward rotation.  The lower extremities are close to linear operation when you walk, run or bend your knees. 

Look what happens when the foot is released to it's natural pronated stance. (Point to the picture above) The ankle collapses.  When it does, the leg rotates internally and shortens.  It sets off a reaction along the kinetic chain all the way to your head.  The kinetic chain describes how one part of the body impacts the parts connected to it.

Take a look from a different vantage point.  Standing on a sheet of glass, when the ankle is placed in its optimal (neutral) position, you can see that there is almost no pressure under the first metatarsal and big toe. The colour is more pink indicating less pressure under the first metatarsal and big toe.

In order for the first metatarsal and the big toe to become weight bearing, they have to travel downward a slight amount.  In doing so, the ankle rolls inward, and downward.  That is the definition of hyperpronation.

The hyperpronating foot becomes wider, and because hyperpronation drives your center of gravity forward, there is more pressure under the forefoot and on the lesser toes (now you know where those hammer toes came from).

Rothbart's Foot Structure originates from birth. It is a structural problem of the bones (Talus) of the foot that progressively causes more problems with age and activity.