Types of feet: what are yours like and what pathologies are you prone to?

There are different types of feet according to their shape and morphology.

The anatomy of the human body has characteristics that have been studied over the centuries.. In fact, the great diversity of shapes, sizes and proportions of different parts of the body are of interest to both the medical community and the general public.

One of the most studied parts of the body is the feet. As they have to support all our weight when we are upright, the feet are of fundamental importance, and the fact that there are different types of feet is curious because it shows us certain signs of how evolution has adapted these extremities to the needs of human movement.

Types of feet: which ones exist and what differentiates them?

In this article we will find out what types of feet exist. and how they are classified according to different medical and anatomical variables. In addition, we will learn why some foot shapes make a person more or less prone to develop certain podiatric pathologies.

The most common way of classifying feet is as follows:

1. Flat feet

The plantar vault has little or no height.. This means that, in an upright position, the person with flat feet has the entire surface of the sole of the foot in contact with the ground.

2. Pes cavus

Pes cavus is the opposite of flat feet.. In the pes cavus, the plantar vault has a great height, so the upright person will have little surface of their feet in contact with the ground.

3. Normal foot

When we speak of a normal foot in terms of plantar arch height, we mean that the height of the plantar arch is average. That is to say, it is neither too high nor too low. In general, the normal foot also correlates with better podiatric health.

Different ways of classifying feet

Although the plantar vault marks a very useful parameter when classifying the different foot classes that exist, it is not the only way to carry out this classification.

For example, another way of evaluating foot types is based on measuring the size of the toes and their proportions in relation to the rest of the foot.. Although this theory does not have a great scientific support, it is usually said that there are three shapes of the feet in terms of the position and proportions of the toes, each shape being "prototypical" of the people of various civilizations in history: Egyptians, Greeks and Romans.

Thus, we are faced with the following distinction:

1. Egyptian foot

In the Egyptian foot, the toes form a diagonal line.The second toe does not protrude above the big toe. That is, they have the second toe shorter than the first.

Statistics say that this is the most common foot morphology, with more than 50% of the population. In fact, footwear manufacturers often use this reference to make shoe lasts.

2. Greek foot

Feet whose second toe is longer than the big toe.. It is estimated that between 12 and 16% of the population has this type of foot. People who have this type of foot may have some podiatric difficulties, since it is frequent that the footwear does not adapt to this characteristic.

If your feet have this shape, it is advisable to be very careful how and where you select your footwear, to avoid discomfort and podiatric disorders. It is often called "Greek foot" because some Greek sculptures show this particular morphological characteristic.

3. Roman (or square) foot

These are feet in which the length of the big toe and the second toe are equal.. They are not very common and tend to be wider feet than usual. This means that people with square feet require special footwear with a width that allows them to walk comfortably and without risk of injury.

Metatarsal length, another way of classifying metatarsals

Another way of classifying foot types, which is a bit more technical, is by looking at the length of the first metatarsalthat is, of the second to last bone that joins the structure of the foot to the tip of the big toe.

According to this particularity, which greatly influences the probability of developing bunions and other disorders depending on the shape of our feet, we find these three types of feet.

1. Index minus

In this case, the first metatarsal is clearly shorter than the second metatarsal.. As podiatrists point out, this anatomical feature means that the second metatarsal bears a greater load during, for example, a walk, so it is common for people with Index minus to suffer from overloads and even bunions.

2. Index plus

In this case the first metatarsal is longer than the second metatarsal.. People with this type of foot may have a greater propensity to develop certain podiatric disorders, such as sesmoiditis (inflammation of the bones of the first metatarsal) and hallux rigidus (difficulties in the mobility of the big toe joint).

3. Index plus minus

In the Index plus minus foot type, the first metatarsal and second metatarsal are very similar or equal in length.or equal length. As we have seen, the length of the metatarsals has some important implications, especially at a medical level, since possessing one form or another correlates with developing, or not, certain foot pathologies.

Bibliographical references:

• France, Diane L. (2008). Human and Nonhuman Bone Identification: A Color Atlas. CRC Press.
• Hawes MR, Sovak D. (2007). "Quantitative morphology of the human foot in a North American population". Ergonomics.
• Marieb, Elaine Nicpon; Hoehn, Katja (2007). Human anatomy & physiology. Pearson Education.