it's time for..... de agony of de feet!
Oct. 25th, 2004 04:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ninevirtuesHold onto your toes, ladies and gentlemen, it's time for the foot and the ankle.
Try this simple trick: Find your fibular head. Find your kneecap... okay, now slide your fingers sideways so they're on the outside of your leg... drop 'em toward your toes a bit... that big bony bump you encounter is the head of your fibula (the small bone that reinforces your tibia).
Now, keeping one hand firmly on the fibular head, lift your foot off the floor. Point your toe as far as it will go. Now bring your toe back toward your nose as far as it will go. Et voila.... the head of your fibula is moving along with your foot.
Why's that? Well, the OTHER end of your fibula is attached to your ankle joint (which is mostly composed of your tibia and talus (topmost foot bone)-- the fibula just hangs on for the ride). The ankle joint is what's doing the rotating when you point your foot.
Now, why on earth do you care?
Well,
1) The iliotibial band (previously described, in this very LiveJournal, ad nauseam) attaches to the fibular head. Hey, look, yank the fibular head around and your ITB may feel the effects.
2) The fibular head is perilously close to the lateral retinaculum of the knee (a fibrous band of connective tissue that covers the knee and provides stability; if it's tight, you can loosen it. If it's tight and the fibular head is messed up, that might very well result in knee pain.
PS For years, ABC sports ran its station identification, and the words concluded with "the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat..." and during the latter phrase they showed a picture of a skier yard-saling over a small cliff. (In a "yard sale" fall you lose everything, mittens, hats, glasses, skis, chapstick, everything, along the way). What must it be like to be that person, sitting at home watching TV years after the event, watching yourself in that painful midair moment....?
Try this simple trick: Find your fibular head. Find your kneecap... okay, now slide your fingers sideways so they're on the outside of your leg... drop 'em toward your toes a bit... that big bony bump you encounter is the head of your fibula (the small bone that reinforces your tibia).
Now, keeping one hand firmly on the fibular head, lift your foot off the floor. Point your toe as far as it will go. Now bring your toe back toward your nose as far as it will go. Et voila.... the head of your fibula is moving along with your foot.
Why's that? Well, the OTHER end of your fibula is attached to your ankle joint (which is mostly composed of your tibia and talus (topmost foot bone)-- the fibula just hangs on for the ride). The ankle joint is what's doing the rotating when you point your foot.
Now, why on earth do you care?
Well,
1) The iliotibial band (previously described, in this very LiveJournal, ad nauseam) attaches to the fibular head. Hey, look, yank the fibular head around and your ITB may feel the effects.
2) The fibular head is perilously close to the lateral retinaculum of the knee (a fibrous band of connective tissue that covers the knee and provides stability; if it's tight, you can loosen it. If it's tight and the fibular head is messed up, that might very well result in knee pain.
PS For years, ABC sports ran its station identification, and the words concluded with "the thrill of victory... and the agony of defeat..." and during the latter phrase they showed a picture of a skier yard-saling over a small cliff. (In a "yard sale" fall you lose everything, mittens, hats, glasses, skis, chapstick, everything, along the way). What must it be like to be that person, sitting at home watching TV years after the event, watching yourself in that painful midair moment....?
