How Many Foot Arches are there?
The bones of the foot are configured in such a way that they result in four distinct arches, which include the medial and lateral longitudinal arches as well as the anterior and posterior transverse metatarsal arches (Gray et al 2005). The medial longitudinal arch consists of the calcaneus, the talus, the navicular, the three cuneiform bones and the first three metatarsal bones. The lateral longitudinal arch consists of the calcaneus, the cuboid and the last two metatarsal bones. The transverse arches are found at the level where the metatarsals meet the phalanges and where the tarsals meet the metatarsals. The arches are supported in part by many plantar ligaments.
It has been proposed that these arches coalesce into a functional half dome responsible for flexibly adapting to load changes during dynamic activities (McKenzie 1955). Therefore, when the medial borders of the two feet are placed together, a complete dome is formed. Mid-stance flattening of the medial longitudinal arch when running has been found to both cushion foot impact and store recoverable strain energy in the stretched elastic tissues (Kerry et al 1987).
When we are standing stationary our weight is distributed between the head of the first metatarsal bone (essentially the base of the big toe), the head of the fifth metatarsal bone (essentially the base of little toe) and the calcanear tuberosity (the back of the heel bone) of each of our feet.
The intrinsic foot muscles play a role in supporting the arches of the feet (Basmajian and Stecko 1963) as do the extrinsic foot muscles (Ridola and Palma 2001).
References:
Basmajian, J. and Stecko, G. (1963) ‘The role of muscles in arch support of the foot.’ J Bone Joint Surg Am 45, 1184–90.
Gray, H., Standring, S., Ellis, H. and Berkovitz, B. (2005) Gray's anatomy: the anatomical basis of clinical practice 39th edition. New York: Elsevier Churchill Livingtone, 2005.
Kerry, R., Bennett, M., Bibby, S., Kester, R. and Alexander, R. (1987) ‘The spring in the arch of the human foot.’ Nature 325, 147–9.
McKenzie, J. (1955) ‘The foot as a half-dome.’ Br Med J 1, 1068–9.
Ridola, C. and Palma, A. (2001) ‘Functional anatomy and imaging of the foot.’ Ital J Anat Embryol 106, 85–98.
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