35. Functional Foundations | Dr. Emily Splichal

“The critical measure for foot function is toe flexor strength,” explains Dr. Emily Splichal, Podiatrist and Human Movement Specialist. As a functional podiatrist and lover of fitness, Dr. Emily holistically looks to the feet to improve one’s movement. With her minimalist footwear company Naboso, Dr. Emily strives to enhance sensory nerve function in the foot and improve lives.    According to Dr. Emily, our feet are connected to the deep core of our pelvic floor, which affects our posture, movement, and overall performance. Although traditional podiatry focuses on the mechanical side of the practice, Dr. Emily also promotes sensory solutions. Since our feet contain multiple nerves that get activated every time they touch the ground, finding feasible ways to strengthen this area is vital.    Podiatry is much more than corrective footwear, especially when you focus on functionality. Learn more about Dr. Emily’s perspective on the field, the problems with the medical system, and the benefits of toe spacers.   Quotes • “I love feet because they connect to movement.” (3:04-3:08 | Emily) • “Movement is my therapy. If there's stress, anxiety, a big change in life, if I go to the gym, or the studio or space and I move and I connect to my physical body again, it grounds me.” (8:56-9:10 | Emily)  • “If I have an hour, I'm going to really listen to the patient and what their concerns are.” (18:27-18:34 | Emily) • “​​Your feet are very fastly connected to your deep core pelvic floor. So from a performance, movement, and posture perspective, we optimize how we control this physical body by connecting our center of mass.” (27:16-27:34 | Emily) • “The critical measure for foot function is toe flexor strength.” (37:54-37:58 | Emily) • “Most patients come to me because they're looking for an out-of-the-box perspective. I can treat almost everything, and people are quite surprised.” (49:27-49:38 | Emily)   Links   Connect with Dr. Emily Splichal: Website | https://www.naboso.com/pages/founder Website | https://www.dremilysplichal.com/ Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/thefunctionalfootdoc/ Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/naboso_technology/ Connect with Physio Room:  Website | ​​https://physioroomco.com/  Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/physioroomco/ Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/physioroomco Andrew’s Personal Instagram | https://www.instagram.com/dr.andrewfix/  Andrew’s Personal Facebook | https://www.facebook.com/andrew.fix.9/   Podcast production and show notes provided by HiveCast.fm