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The following information is educational in nature and is not intended as medical advice. Anyone wishing to actively use this educational material for personal health improvement, is advised to consult with the qualified health care provider of their choice before attempting to use the information.

Morton's Foot & Rothbart's Foot Structure

It is over 70 years since Dr. Dudley Morton, M.D, recognized the prevalence of the short 1st metatarsal of the foot (Morton's Foot structure) -- the presenceof this problem ias commonly referred to as having "Morton's toe". You can use the following link to see a page that illustrates Morton's Toe. Dr. Morton decided that the deformity compromised a person's gait, but he didn't discover the whole picture.

It wasn't until 50 years later, that Brian A. Rothbart, DPM, PhD, discovered why gait was negatively affected by Morton's Toe deformity. What Dr. Rothbart found was that for anyone having 'Morton's Toe' (50% of the population) -- whenever the ankle is placed into an alignment such that it is biomechanically in a position to best support the body - the big toe is elevated up off the floor/ground.

This happens because of the combination of two foot bone deformation factors.

1. A short first metatarsal bone along with:

2. A deformed talus in which the bone is both rotated and elevated relative to its optimal relation to its neighboring bones.

The talar deformation itself was discovered by Dr. Rothbart and the talar deformity is referred to as Rothbart's Foot Structure (RFS). And: it is congenital -- being present at birth. All people with Morton's toe have this deformity -- plus -- there is an additional 30% of the population that has RFS without having a Morton's toe.

So -- 80% of the population has this congenital foot problem (RFS) --And -- as you will come to recognize by reading the articles that follow --that means that 80% of the population at large is susceptible to various (often quite serious) health-negative consequences that are related to postural breakdown -- said breakdown being either originally caused by or severely aggravated by the dysregulation of nervous system activity created by the RFS.

The Startle Reflex & RFS

From the standpoint of the focus in this paper -- discussion of the impact of the RFS on postural health - the following facts are extremely important:

The (prevoluntary - automatic) neurological initiation of the musculo-skeletal contraction pattern of the Startle response remains the same in every instance that the Startle pattern is triggered! The intensity and strength of the development of the pattern may vary from imperceptible to the self to really felt by the self -- but -- neurologically -- it is a whole pattern that is triggered. (2) And repeated trggering of a stored motor pattern -- as is discussed in great detail in the motor control section of this series of presentations -- leads to greater representation and permanence of the postural control pattern that is being repeatedly triggered. (3,4) And -- if the pattern being triggered is one that is less than optimal -- it will create dysafference that in turn leads to further degradation and breakdown of the whole postural control mechanism. The pattern becomes self-perpetuating. The only permanent relief/correction can come about if the proprioceptive imbalance that caused the pattern to begiun is corrected -- in the presence of RFD that means PCIs are needed to fully correct a Startle pattern problem.

Since the major focus of this paper revolves around considering the impact of the RFD on posture & health - the preceding information is a very important piece of knowledge - so here it is again:

The startle pattern presents with a classic and unvariable muscular contraction response. And, although the intensity of the display, or the degree of muscular contraction may vary - The recruitment sequence of the involved muscles remains the same whenever the pattern is evoked. That is - regardless of the amount of stimulus towards Startle that happens -- the pattern of muscular contraction that happens remains the same in every instance in which the Startle reflex is triggered - and - Since repetition is what drives information into the memory banks - here it is yet again: The pattern of muscular contraction that happens remains the same in every instance in which the Startle reflex is triggered -- regardless of the strength of the initiating stimulus -- and over time, this generates a constantly downward spiraling problem of distress and dis-ease as the neurological control system gets ever more out of whack!

To an article about the Startle Pattern

To the Basic article on Total Postural Rehabilitaion

The preceding information is educational in nature and is not intended as medical advice. Anyone wishing to actively use this educational material for personal health improvement, is advised to consult with the qualified health care provider of their choice before attempting to use the information.

References

1. RFS: the following url will take you toa page that has articles authored by Dr. Rothbart http://www.posturedyn.com/references.html

2. Tomkins, S. (1991). Affect imagery and consciousness. New York: Springer Publishing.

3. Bernstein, N. (1967). The coordination and regulation of movements. New York: Pergamon Press.

2. Brooks, V. B. (1986). The neural basis of motor control. New York: Oxford University Press