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THE FOOT REPORT
by
Dennis Denlinger
P.O. Box 60431
Sacramento, CA 95860-4539
USA
Internet: denlingr.ix.netcom.com
Compuserve: 75211,1363
FAX 916/485-4539
Copyright 1995 by Dennis Denlinger
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
This report may be copied and distributed
by any means, including electronic, with the
stipulation that no part may be changed or
altered in any way whatsoever.
In this report I will tell you how the foot arch works. This is
information everybody needs, whether they have foot pain or not.
Even if a foot looks like it has a good arch, it is possible for
the foot to hurt when the arch muscles are not being used
correctly.
I will also report to you how other flat feet and foot arch
problems have been fixed. You may wish to use this information.
As long as there is no damage such as broken bones, severed
tendons, club feet, etc., and all the bones, muscles and nerves
are present and operational it may be possible for you to fix
your own flat feet.
BACKGROUND
My Bachelor of Architecture degree was granted by Carnegie-Mellon
University. While studying architecture I learned much about how
buildings are engineered to stand up without falling. I have
applied this knowledge to the foot.
When I was growing up my mother, on a medical doctor's advice,
took me to get arch support shoes to handle my flat feet. They
did no good. While in high school I worked summers as a caddy.
Often, while carrying those golf bags around the course my feet
hurt.
Later in life I got a severely in-grown toe nail. The pressure
from normal shoes was pressing against the toe causing much pain,
so I bought a pair of Earth Shoes - the ones with the BIG toes
and low heels. They also had a arch which forced the wearer to
have good arches. These "arches" caused me much pain. The
information I had about those shoes was that some people loved
them and some could not wear them due to pain.
I reasoned that if some people loved those Earth Shoes, and they
were hurting my feet, I was doing something wrong. So I looked
for what I was doing wrong - and found it. That took me three
months. It took another three months to strengthen my muscles to
where wearing the shoes was tolerable. After that it took a year
of normal walking to re-train my foot and leg muscles to work
correctly. Now, for 20 years, I have had nice arches and no more
foot pain due to flat feet.
SUCCESSES
Here are some successes others have had after learning about my
theories:
"After a short talk with Dennis I was able to understand and work
toward correcting a flat foot condition that I have lived with
most of my life. I feel certain that this new knowledge will make
a big difference in my posture, comfort and well being. I am very
enthused over the result." -R.H.
"I was having terrible trouble with shin splints (I am a dancer).
Mr. Denlinger showed me how to use the foot arch muscle and I
haven't had any trouble with shin splints since!" -T.F.
"I was absolutely captivated by the discoveries of Dennis
Denlinger as to the engineering structure of the body. It has
explained a number of things I could not understand and given me
the corrective actions to other, seemingly 'incurable', muscular
disorders.
"I feel this is a great step forward towards the
understanding of how our body functions and how to keep it always
in good shape." -M.F.
"I used some very basic data from Mr. Denlinger's book which
resulted in an almost immediately more comfortable body (in
specific situations) and also an understanding of how to maintain
and enhance the degree of comfort. Thanks!" -K.F.
Dr. Gerald Henson, D.C. of Sacramento, California, U.S.A., in the
forward to "How the Foot Arch Works" has this to say: "Mr.
Denlinger has developed a new theory which chiropractors and lay
persons should view as basic to maintaining a harmonious body. As
our profession has long known, when bones are misaligned there
will be disharmony in the body. After a chiropractic adjustment
aligns the bones the improvement in harmony in the body improves
the overall health and well-being of the patient.
"Many practitioners have had the frustrating experience of
adjusting a bone just to have it go out of place shortly after
the patient has left the office. This has long been a mystery.
Mr. Denlinger's theories open the way to a possible handling of
this problem.
"The discovery that there are certain muscles which, for
instance, create the foot arch and that these muscles are
voluntary and therefore trainable appears to be very simple. Why
didn't someone discover and write of this before? Perhaps we will
never know. In any case, it has now been discovered and written
about. We can now use the data to help our patients."
TERMS OF THIS REPORT
SHAREWARE: This report is offered to you similar to shareware
computer software in that you get to try it and if you like it
and are ethical about paying your debts you will pay me, the
author, for my work. I want $10 (US) for my work from every
person who gets benefit from this report. That means, if you were
given a hard copy by someone else and got benefit, you also send
me money, even if the person you got it from also did. You can
send the $10.00 (US) shareware fee to me in cash (any hard
currency), check (US funds) or money order (US funds), gold or
other exchangeable item at the above address.
Although I will hold nothing back in this report, without
adequate drawings it may not be possible for everyone to
understand it and to do it correctly. Since this report is
intended for posting on the Internet, drawings are not possible.
Therefore, at the end of this report I will tell you how to get
my illustrated booklet on the subject. The booklet is more of a
home-study course on how to get your own foot arch to working
correctly. It is designed for a sixth-grade reading level with
many drawings and workbook type questions to answer. You check
off each step of learning as you do it, and when you are done you
will have a good understanding of how to work your feet
correctly. Anyone, whether they have flat feet or not, should
understand how this part of their body works. If you get the
book, you will not need to pay for this shareware version.
DISCLAIMER
There are laws in most states and countries requiring that health
care professionals be licensed as qualified in the field of care
which they provide. I have not been licensed as a health care
professional. Therefore, I may not give you any advice nor may I
promise or offer to alleviate any pain or physical condition. If
you feel you need that kind of care, go see a health care
professional.
In the USA, the First Amendment to our Constitution does give me
the right of free speech which I am exercising. In this report I
am talking freely about my discoveries of how the human body's
foot works. I have studied structure in architecture school and
have studied the placement of muscles and bones in "Gray's
Anatomy", a standard medical and chiropractic school textbook. I
have experimented on my own body to develop the theories. I have
freely spoken to others who have then tried the theories on their
own bodies with results similar to mine.
In giving you these data and theories I am doing my best to
ensure that you understand what I have to say. It is up to you to
evaluate the truth of what I say and whether it applies to you.
If you decide to try to apply this data to yourself, it is
totally your responsibility After all, although I do not believe
it, I may be totally wrong in what I wrote in this book.
Therefore, please heed this warning:
There is NO GUARANTEE, written or implied, that any physical
condition of any kind will be alleviated or improved by using the
data included herein. There is not even a recommendation that
you, or anyone else, use the data included herein. This report is
merely a reporting on the discoveries of the author and how the
data was applied in some few specific instances. The actual use
of the data included herein is done entirely and totally on the
responsibility of you, the reader. If you want help with a
specific physical condition, go see a licensed health care
professional.
BASIC UNDERSTANDING
A joint is where two bones meet. Muscles can hold bones together
at the joints - when they are working. However, muscles are not
always working such as when you sleep.
Ligaments are the backup system which holds bones together at the
joints when the muscles are not working.
Let's do an experiment to get more understanding. Hold your right
arm out with the palm down. Relax the muscles in your right arm
so that the hand flops limply down. Now, using your left hand,
push on the back of your palm, forcing your right wrist to bend
more than it was meant to. If you push enough, the wrist will
hurt. Only do it enough to get the idea.
Contract the muscles in your right arm which pull your hand up
until your wrist is not so much bent. Do not make your right
wrist completely straight, but keep it somewhat bent. Then, with
your left hand, press on the back of your palm again, trying to
bend your right wrist. This time, using the muscles in your right
arm, Do Not Let Your Right Wrist Bend any more than it already
has. You will find that your right wrist does NOT hurt, no matter
how hard you push with your left hand. You can now relax and I
will tell you the theory of what is happening.
In any well-engineered machine such as a jet plane, space shuttle
or even many cars the important systems, such as brakes in cars,
have back-up systems which operate when the main (primary) system
breaks down. When the main system has failed and the back-up
system starts operating, there are loud bells and bright flashing
red lights to let the operator know that there is something wrong
which needs fixed.
In the human body, when the muscles stop operating and the
ligaments start carrying a heavy load across the joint between
bones, pain is the loud bell and flashing light which lets the
operator (you) know that something is wrong.
THE ARCH WORKS THIS WAY
First you will need to locate a bone in your foot, so take off
your right shoe. I will do this description on the right foot.
The left is similar, but reversed.
There is a part of the foot immediately behind the big toe which
is called the Ball of the foot. It looks a bit like a ball when
looked at from the bottom or side of the foot. The ball is formed
in part by a bone which goes from the ball up toward the ankle.
It is about as long as half the distance from the ball to the
ankle. Find this bone in your foot.
Next, you need to know that a TENDON is a strong rope-like
material which connects muscles to bones. It is used like a rope
to move bones which are some distance from the muscle which does
the work.
Once again find the bone which helps form the ball of the foot
and goes toward the ankle. Locate the upper end, which is about
half way between the ball and the ankle. There is a tendon which
attaches to this bone at this point. The tendon goes diagonally
towards the rear across under the foot and when it gets to the
other side it goes up, wrapping around the part of the bone which
sticks out to the right of the ankle.
You can feel this tendon operate. Cross your right leg over your
left. Using your right index finger, touch the bottom part of the
bone which sticks out to the right of your right ankle. Using
your left fingers, pull up on the ball of your right foot. Use a
repetitive pull and release motion. Push back against your
fingers with the ball of your right foot. As you push and relax,
push and relax with the ball of the right foot, your right index
finger will be able to feel the tendon get hard and soft. You may
need to shift your index finger around a bit on the ankle. Do
that several times until you have the tendon identified.
Keep pushing with the ball of your right foot and relaxing, while
at the same time moving your right fingers up the front outside
part (about 2 o'clock) of your right leg until you can feel the
muscle which operates the tendon. Keep pushing and relaxing the
ball until you have the muscle well identified and can operate
that muscle without any guidance like you just had.
You have just located the muscle and tendon which forms the arch
in the human foot. It is a voluntary muscle and can be trained to
operate correctly. For now, let's call this the Main Arch Muscle.
My copy of "Gray's Anatomy," published by Bounty Books (ISBN 0-
517-223651) calls this muscle the 'peroneus longus'.
Now that you have located the Main Arch Muscle, look at the
bottom of you right foot. The weight of your body is carried on
three points: 1) the ball of the foot which is just behind the
big toe; 2) the part of the foot just behind the little toe; 3)
the heel. The toes do not have enough strength to carry a
significant amount of weight.
The weight of the body when standing still should be divided with
at least half (or more) being carried by the ball of the foot and
the remaining weight being divided equally with half being
carried by the part of the foot just behind the little toe and
half being carried by the heel.
HERE IS WHAT YOU DO
Your foot can rock back and forth side to side. This is so you
can walk sideways across a hill in either direction.
Stand where you can hold onto something. Lift your right leg off
the ground and rock it from left to right and back again as far
as it will go. Find the approximate center point. Rock your foot
until it is approximately at the center point and be sure you can
find it again.
Put your right foot down on the ground with the foot rocked to
the approximate center point and keep it there. Use your Main
Arch Muscle to push the ball of your foot down hard enough to
carry half the weight which that foot carries and distribute the
remaining weight between the part of the foot just behind the
little toe and the heel.
If you do not operate the foot and use the Main Arch Muscle this
way whenever standing, the bottoms of the bones of the foot will
separate, stretching those ligaments, causing pain - the loud
bells and red lights - which warn the operator, you, that the
foot is not being used correctly.
When the foot is being used correctly, as described above, you
will notice that the toes point straight forward or ever so
slightly in. If they point in a lot or point out, something is
not being done correctly.
SPRINGS
When walking or running, continue keeping the Main Arch Muscle
contracted. The correctly operating foot functions as a spring to
absorb physical shocks as you run or walk, thus protecting the
body from jars, vibration and shocks.
Also, when walking or running, as the heel touches down, resist
letting the toes flop immediately down. Instead, ease them down.
This will increase the shock absorbing capability of the foot.
EXERCISES
For the most part special exercises are not needed. Merely using
your foot as described above while doing your normal exercise
program will give the muscles ample exercise. Just make sure you
DO use the foot correctly.
In case your Main Arch Muscle is extremely weak, you can increase
it's strength as follows:
1) Hold onto a chair or lean against a wall.
2) Press the balls of both feet against the floor.
Keep doing this.
3) Stand >only< on the balls of both feet.
4) Now relax the Main Arch Muscle.
5) Do this again, relax, do again. Start with doing a
little each day and then gradually build up to doing
more and more.
ASSISTANCE & ETC.
Some people, of which I was one, may have the "arch" so flat and
out of shape that they need a chiropractor's adjustment to move
the bones into the correct position to form the arch. Excessive
pain while getting the foot to working correctly may indicate the
need of adjustments or other problems. Once that the correct
position is achieved, and the muscles are strengthened, it should
be possible to maintain the correct position on one's own.
While getting the foot arches to working correctly the body may
feel weird and mis-shapen; the feet may feel out of place. I
found this to be normal & disappears as the body becomes used to
the new situation.
SHAREWARE AGREEMENT
Remember our agreement, that if you get benefit from this report,
you will send me $10.00 US to the address at the top of the
report.
GET THE BOOKLET
The booklet, "How the Foot Arch Works" is a home-study course on
how to get your own foot arch to working correctly. It is
designed for a layman with at least a sixth-grade reading level
(or higher). It has many drawings and workbook type questions to
answer. You check off each step of learning as you do it, and
when you are done the entire booklet you will have a good
understanding of how to work your foot arches correctly. Anyone,
whether they have flat feet or not, should understand how this
part of their body works. If you get the book, you will not need
to pay for this shareware report.
If you feel that you, or someone you know, also need(s) the
illustrations or the course presentation, you can get a copy of
the booklet "How the Foot Arch Works" by sending your name,
address, a statement of what you want and a check or money order
for ($20.00 for USA addresses) (US$30.00 in US funds for foreign
addresses) which included all taxes, shipping and handling to:
SAY IT IN PRINT
P.O. Box 60431
Sacramento, CA 95821-0431
U.S.A.
ALSO BY THE SAME AUTHOR
You may also be interested in "Practical Nutrition+", a monthly
electronic newsletter about care of the human body. Back issues
are available via FTP at: etext.archive.umich.edu in the
/pub/Zines/PracticalNutrition/ directory.
To subscribe to the electronic version of "Practical Nutrition+"
send both your e-mail AND Paper Mail addresses to
denlingr@ix.netcom.com or to Dennis Denlinger, P.O. Box 60431,
Sacramento, CA 95860-0431, USA. Your address will Not be
distributed to others, but we may send you other pertinent
information from time to time.