Whether you’re walking, running or simply standing, your feet need to make subtle or not-so-subtle movements to keep you balanced, stable or moving forward. Such movements are only made possible through your feet’s multiple joints. Each foot contains 33 joints. Some of them, such as your ankle joint, are incredibly mobile. Others are only capable of subtle movements, such as slight shifting or gliding.
We mentioned three types of foot joints and the various bones of the foot in our previous post on basic foot anatomy. Now it’s time to dive into specifics on the major joints.
Foot Movements
To best understand the joints, it’s important to understand the various movements your feet can make.
- Plantar flexion and dorsiflexion: The former refers to the movement of your foot downward, or away from your leg. The latter is movement of your foot upward toward your leg.
- Inversion and eversion: Inversion occurs when you raise the inside of your foot, turning your forefoot inward. Eversion is the raising of the outside of the foot, turning your forefoot outward.
- Adduction and abduction: Adduction accompanies inversion, specifying the inward motion of the forefoot. Adduction is the opposite, occurring with eversion with the outward movement of your forefoot.
- Supination and pronation: Supination is actually a combination of plantar flexion, inversion and adduction that causes your foot to roll inward. Pronation is the outward rolling of your foot due to a combination of dorsiflexion, eversion and adduction.
Ankle Joint
Officially known as the talocrural joint, the true ankle joint is made up of the bottom portion of the leg bone’s tibia and fibula and the foot bone’s talus, or ankle bone. Often referred to as a tenon and mortise joint, the tibia and fibula serve as the mortise, or notch, that is fashioned to fit the tenon, or projected piece shaped to fit the notch. The talus serves as the tenon.
The ankle joint connects the leg to the foot and can move on all three planes: the traverse, sagittal and frontal. It helps your foot move side-to-side, up and down and diagonally as needed.
Subtalar Joint
Also called the talocalcaneal joint, the subtalar joint is made up of the bottom surface of the talus and the top surface of the calcaneus, or heel bone. It contributes to inversion and eversion of your foot.
Talocalcaneonavicular Joint
Created by surfaces of the talus, calcaneus and navicular bones, this joint plays an essential role in maintaining the longitudinal arch of the foot. It is also involved with inversion and eversion.
Transverse Tarsal Joint
This joint is composed of two separate joints: the calcaneocuboid joint and talonavicular joint.
- The calcaneocuboid joint is made up of your midfoot’s cuboid bone and hindfoot’s calcaneus.
- The talonavicular joint consists of your hindfoot’s talus and your midfoot’s navicular bone, helping to keep the two connected. With the ankle and subtalar joints, it contributes to smooth movement in the ankle area.
Taken together, the two joints create the transverse tarsal joint, which is also known as the midtarsal joint, Chopard’s joint or surgeon’s joint. The joint is made up of the front surfaces of your hindfoot’s talus and calcaneus as they articulate with the back surfaces of the midfoot’s navicular and cuboid bones. This joint is responsible for linking the midfoot and hindfoot and working with the subtalar joint during inversion and eversion.
Tarsometatarsal Joints (LisFranc Joints)
Located at the proximal end of your metatarsals where they interface with your hindfoot, these articulations only allow for slight gliding movements.
Metatarsophalangeal Joints (MTP)
Each foot has five MTP joints, one for each toe, where the metatarsals articulate with their respective phalanges. These joints allow for the flexion, extension, hyperextension, abduction and adduction of your toes where they meet the metatarsals. The MTP joint of your big toe is much more mobile than those of your other toes. Your toes additionally have interphalangeal joints.
Interphalangeal Joints
Interphalangeal joints are those between the phalanges. The big toe has two phalanges and therefore one interphalangeal joint. Your other four toes each have three phalanges and two interphalangeal joints, one proximal interphalangeal joint (PIP) and one distal interphalangeal joint (DIP).
Other Foot Joints
Your foot contains a number of other joints that can only perform a moderate amount of movement. While their movements may be subtle, they are crucial to your foot’s proper functioning. That efficient movement and functioning, in turn, plays a major role in the optimal functioning and movement of your entire body.
REFERENCES:
- Hansen JT. Netter’s Clinical Anatomy. 3rd Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2014.
- Lippert L. Clinical Kinesiology and Anatom 5th ed. Philadelphia, PA: F. A. Davis Company; 2011.
- Logan BM. McMinn’s Color Atlas of Foot and Ankle Anatomy. 4th Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Saunders; 2012.