Advice on Foot Care

Jun 25 2008

Natural Artificial Foot

Published by admin at 11:29 pm under General Foot Care, News and Research

Mechanical engineer Jerome Rifkin has spent 8 years developing and building a flexible, mechanical foot. The foot is one of the most complicated structures in the body. With 26 bones, 33 joints, 107 ligaments and 19 muscles, the foot is a difficult part of the body to mimic or replace. Rifkin’s artificial foot differs from other mechanical feet because it has a heel, a midfoot, a forefoot and a big toe. The midfoot essentially connects the forefoot to the heel, but more importantly, it creates a flexible arch designed to give the wearer a more natural step. There is a cable and spring connected to the big toe joint area to mimic the natural push-off of the big toe at the end of each step. The front and the back of the foot act independently, so this allows the foot to adjust to uneven terrain. Adapting to uneven terrain is something our feet do naturally and something that other artificial feet have failed to accomplish.

Walking is an extremely complex motion which our body, for the most part, does effortlessly. The foot and ankle carry most of the responsibility and are able to carry our full body weight, adjust to uneven surfaces and propel the body forward with ease. The key is the coordinated acts of the multiple muscles and joints in the foot with the muscles in the lower leg. One of the unique parts of Rifkin’s design is the midfoot joint. The midfoot is not is a single joint, but is made up of multiple joints which allow for flexibility of the arch and adaptability to uneven surfaces. When walking, the ankle moves over the foot until the heel comes up off the ground. The midfoot should act like a rigid lever to help lift the rearfoot and ankle and propel the body forward, while the forefoot flexes. But, the midfoot can adapt to uneven surfaces when necessary. At the end of the step, during propulsion, the big toe help carry the momentum forward by pushing off.