By Maggy Ashby, RMT

Episode 1

If you are reading this, you have questions about the function of your feet:

feet

Foot pain is a call to action.

I am here to teach you to decode the messages in foot pain.

I also hope to give you a do it yourself guide how to direct time related changes to your feet.

As an avid hiker and trail runner, I am going to lead you on a trail through the foot – a footpath.

You are used to participating in life, and likely want to continue into the next decade.  For this, you are going to need highly functional, and pain free feet.

The Do it yourself Guide to fabulous, functional feet:

One of my favourite pastimes is hiking, so my feet need to be functional.

I am also a massage therapist — who works best in bare feet; I get a lot of feedback from my feet.

Oh, and my left big toe wants to turn in — an age-related change that is in my family code. This has made me curious to see just how irresistible the genetic code really is.

I study the design of the human foot in my work. I see how form follows function, AND how dysfunction dictates deformed.

Did you catch that?

Dysfunction dictates deformed.

Most importantly, I study how foot function impacts your quality of life.

Some of my patient’s foot stories will make it into this series.

I refer to the conglomerate of my work in the “Do it yourself Guide to fabulous, functional feet”.

My guidebook spells out how:

  • the anatomical team functions.
  • dysfunction dictates deformity.
  • to get the best use from the anatomical feature.
foot pain

How this series works:

I plan to roll this adventure out once a month, in twelve segments. 

If you follow the whole series:

  • we will map a path leading from the human big toe,
  • wind our way through the foot,
  • climb through the crevices of the ankle,
  • summit at our destination: an impressive lookout from the hip joint, with a perspective all the way back to the big toe where we began.
foot function

Functional relationships are crucial to fabulous feet

To get the best from a team we must learn to work with others. Anatomical features up and down stream from each other are no different.
The fauna of our anatomical trail are the muscles and ligaments. As in every good story, we have

  • agonists (those who do)
  • antagonists (those who oppose)
  • synergists (those who help).

We will also shine a light along the darker sections of the footpath, highlighting pitfalls, and typical dysfunctions that beset the parts of the foot that we explore.

foot pain

What is in it for you to follow this series?

Well, what do you love to do? This series is about getting back to what you love.

By the end of the series you will:

  • feel the foundation and power from your foot and ankle.
  • command little-known parts of your feet to improve your quality of life.
foot pain running

Understand your feet, and regain movement.  Balance and strength follow movement. 

Movement, balance and strength enable you to do what you love:  From gardening to landscape work, pickle ball and golf, to running marathons, or from crafting to heavy renovation.

Your ankles and feet must aid, not impair you. 

This series give you tools to do it yourself.

foot function

Functional feet are more attractive, run faster, and extend your reach! All you have to do is read on, and tune in each month — twelve more times.

foot pain

Follow Maggy Ashby, RMT's blog series on A guide to fabulous functional feet

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