Human foot not as unique as first thought
The hoof of the Equus caballus is a highly adapted construction that evolved over millions of years. So how does the human human foot stack upwards yesteryear comparison?
Research at the University of Liverpool has shown that the mechanisms of the human human foot are non equally unique equally originally idea in addition to bring much to a greater extent than inwards mutual amongst the flexible feet of other swell apes.
“Our limbs did non accommodate to life on the solid put down anywhere close equally much equally those of other ground-dwelling animals such equally horses, hares in addition to dogs,” said Dr Karl Bates, from the university’s Institute of Ageing in addition to Chronic Disease.
“Our tests showed that our feet are non equally potent equally originally idea in addition to genuinely cast constituent of a continuum of variation amongst those of other swell apes.
“We hypothesise that despite becoming virtually solely solid put down domicile nosotros bring retained flexibility inwards the feet to allow us to deal effectively amongst the differences inwards difficult in addition to soft solid put down surfaces which nosotros come across inwards long distance walking in addition to running.
“The adjacent constituent of our report volition hold out testing this theory, which could offering a argue why humans tin dismiss outrun a horse, for example, over long distances on irregular terrain.”
Current agreement of the evolution of human walking is based on interrogation from the 1930s, which proposes that human feet constituent real differently to those of other apes, due to the evolution of arches inwards the mid-foot portion in addition to the supposed rigidity of that on the exterior border of the foot.
In a report of to a greater extent than than 25,000 human steps made on a pressure-sensitive treadmill at the university’s Gait Laboratory, scientists at Liverpool bring shown that, despite having abandoned life inwards the trees long ago, our feet bring retained a surprising amount of flexibility – the type seen inwards the feet of other swell apes, such equally orangutans in addition to chimpanzees, that bring remained largely tree-dwelling.
Professor Robin Crompton, likewise from the Institute of Ageing in addition to Chronic Disease, explains: “It has long been assumed that because nosotros possess lateral in addition to medial arches inwards our feet – the lateral 1 supposedly beingness stiff in addition to supported inwards os – that our feet differ markedly to those of our nearest relatives, whose mid-foot is fully flexible in addition to makes regular solid put down contact.
“This supposed ‘uniqueness’, however, has never been quantitatively tested. We flora that the hit of pressures exerted nether the human mid-foot, in addition to so the internal mechanisms that drive them, were highly variable, in addition to so much in addition to so that they genuinely overlapped amongst those made yesteryear the swell apes.”
It has previously been idea that humans who brand contact amongst the solid put down amongst the mid-foot portion are primarily those that endure from diabetes or arthritis, both of which tin dismiss behaviour upon on the construction of the feet.
However, interrogation showed that two-thirds of normal salubrious subjects produced only about footfalls where the mid-foot touches the ground, amongst no indication that this is other than an seem of normal salubrious walking.
Bates added: “Our ancestors likely starting fourth dimension developed flexibility inwards their feet when they were primarily tree-dwelling, in addition to moving on bendy branches, but equally fourth dimension passed in addition to nosotros became to a greater extent than in addition to to a greater extent than ground-dwelling animals, only about novel features evolved to enable us to motion speedily on the ground.”
The research, published inwards the journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B, was supported yesteryear the Natural Environment Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust. in addition to the Royal Society. It forms constituent of interrogation yesteryear the university’s Centre for Integrated Research into Musculoskeletal Ageing, funded yesteryear the Medical Research Council in addition to Arthritis Research UK.
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