Source: Barefoot Strong Blog

“Power lies within the transverse plane. We have all heard this concept at one point or another throughout our education or training career. From the rotational moment of the trunk to generate power when throwing a javelin to the torque created from supination of the foot into the external rotational power of the glutes – rotational moments are in every aspect of human movement. The closer we look at the fascinating human body and the fascial system, the more we can find that spirals and rotations are everything and everywhere!” – Dr. Emily Splichal

As Dr. Emily Splichal explains, “the achilles tendon is the largest and strongest tendon in the human body. “Formed by the gastrocnemius and soleus tendons (and sometimes plantaris), this fascinating structure is able to generate most of the elastic energy return during dynamic movement and from an evolutionary perspective is a critical structure in the spring-mass theory of movement efficiency. Now there are a few unique characteristics of the Achilles tendon that must be appreciated when training or rehabbing this structure.”

The EBFA Global confirms the power of the largest and strongest tendon in the human body:

• The Achilles tendon is not one tendon but rather a stacked tendon
• 2/3 of the Achilles tendon is made of soleus fibers
• The Achilles tendon medially rotates toward its insertion
• This rotation places the soleus fibers to the medial calcaneus
• While the MG / LG insert towards the lateral calcaneus

To learn more about the fascinating functional foot and the four functional applications:

1. Soleus Equals Power
2. Resupination of the Foot through Plantarflexion
3. Restriction of Blood Supply
4. Non-Uniform Achilles Stress by Pronation

Please read the full article here and Dr. Emily Splichal’s book, Barefoot Strong.