Functional FEET DEfined

“Our predecessors were not fools, and we should take satisfaction from adding a brick or two to an existing edifice, not in imagining that we built the whole thing ourselves” (Wilkie, 1986).

function

ˈfʌŋ(k)ʃ(ə)n/

noun

an activity that is natural to or the purpose of a person or thing.

(Oxford English Dictionary)

Attempts to define human foot function have a long history. This article provides a brief overview of these attempts and their strengths and weaknesses, ending with a new definition of a functional human foot.