Functional Feet for Your Second Half with a Strong Foundation

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What are you waiting for? Good night. Before you ask what kind of shoes I or our guest likes, listen to this episode for a deeper understanding of healthy feet and what you can do to get them. Is your posture a problem? How are your feet? Functional feet are the topic of the day. Barefoot specialist expert Dr. Emily Spleckle is more than a podiatrist. She's a functional podiatrist, and she is a fitness trainer and a movement specialist. She may or may not be, though you'd never believe it from a picture, a midlifer who's got enough experience in working with patients and students to know that midlife feet can be the beginnings of problems up the kinetic chain, and she's here to talk about it. My guest, Dr. Emily Spleckle, functional podiatrist and human movement specialist, is the founder of EBFA Global, creator of the Barefoot Training Specialist certification, author of Barefoot Strong, and CEO and founder of Naboso Technology. With over 20 years in the fitness industry, Dr. Spleckle has dedicated her medical career towards studying postural alignment and human movement as it relates to barefoot science. Foot to core integration and sensory integration. And I'm Debra Atkinson. You're listening to Flipping 50, where we address top struggles and concerns, but most of all, we hope to inspire you to change the way you age and demand and expect better products and better services for yourself. We share here what to eat, how to move, and how to change your mindset so you can have the energy and vitality that you want, need, and deserve in this second and better half. And I can't wait to dive into this one, given foot problems can be pretty common around this community. Let's dive in. Dr. Emily, thank you so much for joining me today.

Of course, it's a pleasure. Thank you.

All right, I have to give you this question right away. So I want everybody to understand the difference between just podiatry and functional podiatry. So would you define it for everybody?

Absolutely. So I think a good way to start is by understanding functional medicine, and functional medicine is actually increasing in popularity. This is where the practitioner's looking at the patient or individual holistically, thinking about sleep, stress, diet, really every aspect of this integrated being. As far as how they're presenting. From a podiatric perspective, which podiatry is obviously foot and ankle health or foot and ankle medicine, I take that same approach and I will look at my patients integratively, holistically, as far as their overall foot health, foot function, and movement. So very similar, I do look at diet, stress, sleep, emotion. I look at functional movement. So it's not just about how the foot and the ankle is functioning in isolation, but I factor in these different fascial lines and integrated muscle connections when I, when I do factor that in with a patient. I, and then I try to create programming based off of the integrative complexity of a human being.

Love that. And I think most of our audience members know right now, they're kind of in tune with, holy cow, my balance is not what it used to be. And also aware more and more, but not necessarily why, that they're beginning to walk differently. They begin to shuffle a little bit more. What, what we've trained people to know is this is a senior shuffle, and here's why it's happening. So ankle mobility becomes a problem. Talk a little bit about balance training, because a lot of women in our audience here know they need it, but Where do we get balance training wrong? Maybe actually doing it but not getting the ROI from the balance training.

That's such a great question. So, um, to optimize balance training— and let me actually take a step back— that as far as balance being very important during the aging process, you could say, but just in general, everyone should have an optimal level of single leg stability. The reason is that it is a necessary component to functional movement movement, namely walking. And there's this very important period during the gait cycle or during walking where we are on just one leg. So we are balanced in that single leg stance. And the better our balance, the longer the steps that we can take, the faster then we can walk. Of course, it's involved in running and going upstairs and playing pickleball if you want. So it's just a very important functional position. Now, when a lot of people think about balance training, their mind may go towards standing on a wobble board or being on a BOSU, where something unstable is how you train stability and single leg stability. And that's actually not entirely true. I actually do a lot of balanced, balanced training programming that focuses on first you need to be able to feel your feet. So if you are doing balance-based exercises, I need you to think about The shoes that you're wearing, or maybe no shoes, you take your shoes off, so you're doing it barefoot. What surface are you going to stand on? Ideally, I would want you on a harder surface, like a hardwood floor versus on a wrestling mat or even a thick yoga mat so that you can feel your foundation. You can feel how you are creating the stable base with the ground, which is the foundation to balance and stability. Then I start to look at the foot. Locally and just think about digit strength. So an important part of how we maintain balance is actually hidden within our toe flexor strength. So hammer toes, bunions, floating toes, all of these different forefoot issues actually play a very important role in balance or potentially lack of balance. And then outside of just local foot toe flexor strength, of course, it's connected higher up where our center of gravity or center masses, which is our core, our deep core. And there is a powerful connection between foot strength and deep core center of gravity stability. So that's an important part of how I teach balance. Obviously, it goes out into the hips and the glutes, which is important. And then the last thing that I would add into that is you don't have to create— you don't have to go onto an unstable surface to challenge stability. Meaning if you are awesome at doing a single leg stance, you do all your bicep curls and military presses and shoulder exercises on one leg, so you are, you're good to go. Oftentimes we think that then the next level of challenge is to do that same exercise on top of a BOSU or an Airex pad, where instead I would say A better way to perturb the system or try to challenge that stability is to not go on something unstable, but to do something as simple and subtle as moving your eyes or doing a subtle head rock, which is going to stimulate the vestibular system. I'll put people under dual-tasking challenges and I will have them count backwards from 100 in multiples of 3 or 7 or something like that. So we're actually playing with the neurological system system in the true integrated function— fashion of how it actually functions by doing perturbations such as that.

Love that. That was so great. Um, talk a little bit about, um, dynamic movement. So I love to see this done as a part of, say, a— there's a core temperature elevation warm-up, and as part 2 of a warm-up, moving in terms of center of gravity not over base of support. So you're actually moving to maybe the floor to touch 6 inches out, come back up and move 12 inches out. Do you incorporate that kind of work as well?

I like any work, so I might not do that specific exercise.

Sure, but something—

right. But yes, we are looking at how do we get, you know, the visual, the vestibular, the tactile, the proprioceptive, the joints, the mechanoreceptive Really everything of what we are discussing so far on this episode is really based off of the nervous system. And we have to wake up the nervous system. We have to stimulate. We need a challenge. We need to integrate. And the more that the listeners can understand that optimal movement is really a neurological process, and that might seem obvious because it's the nerves that are moving the muscles, but I find sometimes people take a very mechanical approach approach to exercises and they think I'm reaching down and reaching back up to literally warm up my vertebral column or my spine, like this very mechanical way of thinking of it. I try to look at the nervous system side of every movement in addition, of course, to the mechanical.

Sweet. Okay. I want to ask you this and I'm going to back way, way up. So first of all, why feet? How did you end up doing this?

I wish it was a great story.

No, there's not.

So, um, I love movement. That has— that's always my passion. And for those that follow my work know that that's really— as soon as I start talking about the influence of feet on movement, then I— that's just where my passion starts to exude. So I was working as a personal trainer in the fitness industry and wanted you get an advanced degree and was looking at medicine, various types of medicine, um, from MD, DO, um, chiro, things like that. And I landed on podiatry by chance. A little bit of that has to do with being in New York City where there is a podiatry school. So it was kind of timing and location, but what I didn't realize was the influence that I could bring from podiatry into the fitness industry and that just opened this massive opportunity and curiosity and gave me the chance to explore new avenues that were not ever used within the podiatry profession. So I love it. I love questioning things and exploring and putting things together like a puzzle. So yeah, so that's kind of why feet. So it's not directly feet, it's more movement.

That's a great answer, and it really is. Um, so I'm gonna just give you a huge shout out and thank you from, from all of those in the fitness industry, because I know it's been at least a decade that I was first introduced to you, maybe a little less than that. But, and of course it was at a fitness conference, and I mean, you are the premier really when it comes to looking at feet and feet health and the impact on it. And as I'm working with an audience and our listeners you know, 45 and older. The average of our audience is probably 45 to 70, and I'm not ignoring those of you who are younger or those of you who are older and wiser than that even. But ankle mobility and foot issues becomes more prominent. So it's, it's really piquing interest, not just for me, but for everyone who feels maybe a little more limited than they were. So I have to ask this. This is, this is like my mother would say, Don't ask that question, right? So I'm not asking how old you are, but I'm asking— and you've most likely taken extremely good care of your own feet— but have you noticed a difference from now to 10 or 20 years ago in your own feet or ankles?

So yeah, the biggest— I guess this would be a fun fact— is I lived in New York City for 20 years. That's actually where I started my, my fitness career, my entire 20s and 30s, so that will then age me somewhat, um, or indicate my age. But I used to wear high heels every day in my 20s. They were probably 3-inch heels, but I would wear them every day, and I would zip around. I would be, you know, Sarah Jessica Parker type around New York, all sets of the city. Um, and then as I got older and as, you know, different postural changes occur. But then obviously as I got into the barefoot space, wear minimal shoes, you know, work out barefoot, I do not spend a lot of time in heels anymore. That will be only for like a nice dinner out or something. That I've noticed the ability, the capacity, the postural endurance to sustain stain the stress that high heels put on my body or the body in general that I have noticed. Thankfully, knock on wood, I don't have bunions and hammertoes and I have a completely neutral foot. So I think this is just by chance. But I do, despite walking around a lot in New York and doing a lot of stress on my feet and teaching a lot of classes that are impact-based, I've been releasing my feet and doing the foot recovery that I advocate for every single day consistently for 15 years. So I definitely do try to walk the walk of what I advocate for professionals and clients and patients and kind of the message of that tiny little consistent daily habit that you can do will have a large accumulative effect on your foot health. So yeah, hopefully that answers your question.

It, it definitely does. And I think, you know, for a lot of us who may have ignored our feet for a very long time or just thought of it far enough in, in terms of cute shoes, you know, or love those, want to wear those because they are cute, now it's a little bit more about comfort, you know, it's a little bit more about what am I able to do and, and how is that limiting my choice to do certain activities. I think that We're also caught between this and that. So I want to come back to you and your focus with your training is so much on the sensory side. So being able to feel your feet, why do you focus on that? And give an example of how someone can get in touch with their foot.

Yeah, so I, I am pretty obsessed with the sensory side of feet. In podiatry school, we were taught everything mechanical, that the feet are all about pronation, supination, high arches, low arches, you know, stiff custom orthotics that just have a smooth top cover on it, super supportive shoes with lots of cushions, right? We become very mechanical. And the more that I started to explore different aspects of movement and therefore feet, This was also in parallel when I was getting my master's in human movement. So I actually went to podiatry school, got my essentially like a doctorate type degree, and then I went back and got my master's. So I did this kind of in a awkward way, but I, I really needed a way. I, I knew as I was going through podiatry school and really diving into foot function and foot medicine, that this mechanical way was really only part of the story. Like, it was the tip of the iceberg, and it wasn't really fulfilling the whys that I was asking. I knew that there was more. And then being in the fitness industry, I was being exposed to people within the fascial space, people who were specializing in the pelvic floor, in breathing. And I started to explore those and then see this connection. Hence, when I was getting my master's, I focused on really the neuroscience of the foot, barefoot science is what we'll call it. So, that aspect is really, really important and it influences a lot of the mechanical function. So, from the sensory side of the foot, the skin in the bottom of the foot has special nerves, very unique nerves that are similar to what you find in the palm of the hand and on your fingers. They are touch nerves. So what we touch with our hands is very important to how we relate and manipulate objects. It's how, you know, very delicate surgery is done. It's how, you know, artists work. So the dexterity and the sensitivity of the human hand is really critical to what we appreciate in, you know, being human. Similar in our feet. Our feet are designed to read and, articulate with and navigate the surfaces that we're walking on. And unfortunately, modern footwear with lots of cushion creates a disconnect from that, that a lot of people have actually started tuning out of their feet. And that's where you actually see chronic plantar fasciitis, shin splints, stress fractures. A lot of these injuries in the foot that I was taught to look at very mechanical are actually sensory, and it's based off of a lack of awareness of the ground and the impact forces that we experience when we walk. So what I started to see is that the more that I could teach my patients to feel their feet, feel the ground, that they started to have decreased injuries, increased foot strength, total body postural awareness, increased athletic performance, reduced falls. There was just so much that was coming out of this ability to feel and connect to the sensory side of the feet, which is actually innate to how our nervous system was formed. That's important to how a baby starts to develop their awareness to themselves and to the ground and then to movement.

I love this. Okay, so I want to ask your opinion then, and this is such a broad statement, I'm struggling to find and define a question. But so what are your feelings on shoes? I mean, are we doing this all wrong when we go buy cushioned shoes for running or for strength training?

I, as much as I can, I want to get my patients, all the listeners, everyone to be as natural as possible. Now, that doesn't mean that everyone who's listening should be in a complete barefoot shoe like a Vivo Barefoot or a Xero shoe or a similar brand. But what it means is how can we get as close to natural or minimal as possible that fits our unique story? And that story is based off of your foot type, your injury history, and then the activity that you are going to be using the footwear with. So let's say if you have severe ligament laxity in your foot and a flexible flat foot, with a history of on and off plantar fasciitis for 5 years, and you are going to go running outside on the sidewalk, making something up, that is kind of a perfect storm for injury, just in the sense that that foot is a little bit weak or it's a little bit slow or it doesn't have the integrity to withstand the lack of forgiveness that concrete gives. There's a history of connective tissue injury, that's the plantar fasciitis, and then you're running on a surface that is very non-forgiving. So that's where I would factor that in and say, okay, a shoe that has a little bit more structure and possibly some cushion makes sense. However, since we're talking about a lot of like fitness and working out, a gym environment for almost everyone is the perfect place to be using as minimal shoes as possible because not every activity or exercise that we are going to experience is going to be impact-based. So I could be doing squats, I could be doing lunges, bicep curls, kettlebells, step-ups, whatever I'm doing in really a controlled environment that is perfect for allowing that more natural movement through minimal shoes. So I think it's about taking the information, taking the ideal that we're trying to achieve, which is barefoot or minimal shoes, and then bring it back to our reality and then find that perfect balance.

So good. That was, that was just excellent. Thank you for that answer. There are— and I love the word bulletproof, so you had me at that. But I wanna— what are, what are 3 pillars to Bulletproof Feet. And I am becoming more and more conscious and aware of this myself. I very recently, I have becoming more and more aware of I'm losing a little ankle mobility, or I've got a little, little friction at my joints, a little percussion if you will. I was like, okay, how do I, how do I prevent that from getting any worse and make sure I'm taking really good care of myself? Because I plan to be around for another 40 years.

Yes, love it. So the 3 pillars to bulletproof your feet are going to be based off of what I would want all of the listeners, all of my patients, you to do on a consistent basis to strengthen your overall foot health and foot awareness. This is going to be first. First pillar is going to be activation or awareness. That's a lot of the sensory that we were speaking about is this sensory side of the feet, waking up the nerves, getting out of our shoes, getting into a barefoot environment, using some of the Naboso products, which I know we haven't discussed yet, but Naboso is a sensory product line that I founded 5 years ago, and it's a way to stimulate these nerves. So that's, that's another way to do that. Another great way to activate the feet of that pillar is to release the muscles. And this is going to fall under one of the other pillars, but to release the muscles of the feet, which can be done by using the neural ball, standing on a golf ball, lacrosse ball, something like that. And that's for at least 5 minutes a day. Second pillar is going to be strength, and the strength that we are focusing on is not just foot strength, but it is integrated strength. So that is doing something that is going to wake up the muscles of the feet and connect them to your center of gravity or your center of mass. So it's foot-to-core stability or foot-to-core strength. That's going to be your second pillar. And I'll share just a little bit more on that. And then the third pillar is going to be around recovery. And for recovery, could be a similar foot release every day, couple minutes, but it's also focused around circulation. So what could we do on a consistent basis that is going to increase foot circulation, which is critical and necessary to foot recovery? So again, 3 pillars are going to be activation or awareness. We need to be able to feel our feet. That's very important. That's the sensory side, nervous system side. Second is strength, but looking at foot strength from an integrated perspective, that's foot to core strength, foot to core stability. Third is going to be the recovery. Recovery would be a literal massage to the feet as well, but it is more about getting the circulation stimulated within the feet.

I love that. And I do want you to talk a little bit about Naboso. So first of all, I know that is your line and Where did the name come from? And then I also want to share, I love the toe spreaders personally, so I'm addicted.

I'm so glad that you like them. Many people are obsessed with them. So the Naboso is a Czech word that means barefoot, and I came across that when I was actually in Prague teaching, and I was I was starting Naboso, trying to come up with a name for the company, and saw this word. It was on someone's t-shirt, and I was just drawn to the word. I don't know why. I was just really drawn to it. And then, I asked them what it meant. And, when they said barefoot, I was like, "Oh, well, that's perfect. That's definitely what I'm going to use." And interestingly, Naboso, which is this Czech word for barefoot, is a minimal shoe store chain in the Czech Republic, and they sell Naboso products at their Naboso stores. So it's fun. And then for the toe spacers that you wanted me to speak about, the toe spacers, which many people love, some people will think of them kind of like when you're getting a pedicure and you slide something on, or the pedicure does to spread the toes. They're actually made of like a It's not latex and it's not silicone, but they're kind of like a silicone-like material. They are latex-free, and you would slide them on all 5 toes and it would spread all 5 toes. It is really great for end of the day when you get out of shoes. If you have bunions and hammertoes, of course it's great for that. Neuromas, great for that. Plantar fasciitis, amazing, because your plantar fascia actually inserts onto the base of your toes, and when you stretch your toes open, you technically stretch your plantar fascia. So they're really great for that. And for that, we would say at least 30 minutes a day if you could use those, just an easy form of recovery. Um, that's in addition to, say, like this foot release where oftentimes I recommend the Neural Ball from Naboso. It's a ball that's splits into two domes and you literally would just stand on it when you brush your teeth and you get the benefit of the massage with the texture, wear the toe spacers. When I look at foot health and foot recovery, kind of like these three pillars, I want it to be something that you can do very easily in your day, what you start your day with, And if you don't mind, Debra, I'll just share like how I would tell someone to do this in like the first 5 minutes of your day. Yeah, please. So let's say you wake up, okay, you're going to the bathroom, brush your teeth, you know, put on your makeup, all that fun stuff. And when you're doing that, to do the 5-point neural ball release, you could do both feet at the same time. You're just going to stand on 5 different points under your foot for 30 seconds each. So it takes 2 minutes and 30 seconds. You're doing that, right? Okay, then you would set your base. So I have a video on how to set your base where your feet would be shoulder-width apart. You would find your foot tripod, lift your toes, spread them wide, place them back down onto the floor, and then you would imagine that you are standing stiff as a board. Stay stiff as a board, and you're just going to sway forward slightly and then come back into a vertical position. And then you'll sway forward and come back into a vertical position. So it's— you're not swaying all the way like a ski jumper, but you could kind of imagine how a ski jumper leans forward, like they pitch their body forward without breaking at the hip. You're just swaying. And you literally, every time you slightly sway forward, your toes are going to push down into the ground and essentially activate your foot muscles. And remember the toe flexor strength that I had mentioned as far as balance. So I would literally have a patient or an individual set their base, doot, doot, doot, sway your body forward 5 to 8 times, just like you're kind of swaying in the wind, right? Nice and easy, right? Imagine you could do that if you're brushing your teeth too, if you want, right? You're doing that. Then, You would essentially push your toes down without swaying your body forward and shift to stand on one leg for 10 seconds and then stand on both feet again, activate the other foot, stand on the leg for 10 seconds, and you would essentially repeat that single leg stance 3 times per side. So you could see how this little routine takes 5 minutes to do a little bit of a trigger point release, a little bit of a set of the base, a little sway with your stiff as a board to activate the foot. Then we're doing a single leg stability because everyone needs to wake up their balance and get their feet and core ready. Do that a couple times, boom, and you're doing it barefoot, so you're obviously getting the barefoot stimulation. So that's one of the best ways that I advocate for people to start their day when they are just getting ready in the morning. You could also do these things not when you're in the bathroom, but when you're waiting for the coffee to brew or something like that.

So good. So easy, right? As long as you have certain morning habits, you just layer that in there and boom, you've got it. Yes. Not necessarily taking up more time. So good. Okay, so You have no doubt a history of seeing a lot of clients, a lot of customers who deal with foot issues. What's the question, knowing we're talking to women 45 to 70, that I haven't asked you yet that I should?

Ooh, something that I keep hearing about lately or keeps showing up in my practice— honestly, I think it's because the world is like Emily, you are going to enter perimenopause soon, which I'm like, oh my God, please no.

It's not so bad once you get to the other side.

But I've had more and more patients, female patients who are in different phases of their perimenopause, postmenopause journey that present with these different peripheral nerve symptoms. And it's something that I, I don't see spoken about a lot. I don't know, you know, maybe the listeners have not heard of it yet, but there are different peripheral nerve changes that can occur in the feet, the hands as well. But it's very often in the feet where it can seem like this neuropathy that they're experiencing or various neuritis nerve symptoms that I think is important for women kind of going through those different phases to be aware that this is a normal symptom among all the other fun symptoms of this phase. That I think it's just important to just respect and honor that that is something that is— it's transient, it won't stay as the body kind of calibrates and the different hormones, then often those symptoms will subside. But in the— when I do have a patient that is experiencing any of those nerve symptoms, I give them different ideas of nerve calming agents. So different, like, topical CBDs. Magnesium is great. GABA is a great nervous system relaxant. So that just to kind of help them navigate that symptom that they're experiencing.

That was amazing. Good. And so, so lucky for us that you are entering perimenopause, so you had wisdom to answer as you brought it. Thank you so much, Emily. Tell everybody where they can get a hold of you, and we have a special code, and I'll share that link as well. So at flipping50.com/DrEmily, we'll have a special code for you where you apply $50 off the functional fee programs, um, as well. But where can they find you and follow you? Because you also have great things on social media in addition to your site.

Absolutely, thank you. So my social handle is The Functional Foot Doc, that is on Instagram. Naboso is N-A-B-O-S-O, um, and so we are on Instagram, YouTube, obviously our website, um, for my podiatry practice, which is important to note that I do see patients virtually. In fact, a majority of my patients are seen virtually and I can treat almost every condition that way. My practice is my name, so dr.emilyspigel.com, and then all of my different websites link out to YouTube, or you could just go to YouTube and search my name. So just Dr. Emily feet or barefoot or something. And I have hundreds of videos that are really based around content exercises, and then empowering the consumer to really understand their body, their movement, their foot health. That, that ultimately is my goal and why I do everything that I do, is to empower people to take their health into their own hands.

Beautiful. Thank you so much. This is such a valuable episode, and listeners, I know you're going to agree because I know inevitably we're in the middle of a program and I will get asked, I, you know, I can't do this exercise of my feet. I can't bend this way or that way. And foot function is so very important. So those little tips that tell you you're not quite where you want to be are just a fantastic wake-up call for, here's a great resource, so go use it. You've got it here. And she's doing something very unique that she brings the best of both worlds together, which we couldn't ask for more. So listeners, if I missed to question that you have. I know about your specific feet. I get it. You can go and ask that question at flipping50.com/functionalfeet. And what are you waiting for? Let's start flipping 50 today.