fchan

I'm not a furry, but I'm not a furry hater.

I recently learned the definition of digitigrade from reading a forum post on a furry forum asking if it is dangerous or painful for your feet.

I have grown up walking this way - walking on the balls of my feet and my toes. I would imagine it is painful for one to walk this way, but so far, there seems to be no damage. However, my pinkies toes seem to be turned 90 degrees towards the other toes, and my feet are very wide (that may not be a result of me walking digitigrade, however).

Does anybody else walk this way? Does anybody else try to learn to walk this way?

This was something I was actually thinking about.

Talking in all seriousness here

Our really early human ancestors probably had digitigrade legs, as do our fellow Primates. 

On an evoulutionary aspect it much easier for the Tarsal & the Metatarsal bone to adapt into a foot instead of a elongated third leg bone. So where not walking around like the Protoss.

>>5

Yeah man, everyone knows we were created as-is by God.
(Am I being sarcastic or not? The world will never know! Ha ha ha!!!)

>>6

I stand corrected, but you get the idea

yep- nailed it number ten. i still think having feet somewhat digitigrade would be really nice, get to run fast as HELL. standing is always best with feet flat and straight, but i'm usually sitting or walking. conjecture: you wearing dress shoes? standard shoes actually make our natural gait five degrees or so left or right from direct forward.

Standing on the ball of the foot is just silly and inefficient. It's unnescessary loading on tendons and muscles. Maybe something to amuse yourelf with if you're bored at the line, but not much else.

Running, walking short distances, jumping, dancing and the like is ok, in some cases even natural and has benefits to development of the foot (walking on the ball of the foot is an excercise sometimes prescribed by physicians), the soleus muscle may be tired at first, but adjusts to this in a month or two. More mobility, springier motion, less stability, control and balance. And as >>8 mentioned, it's an efficient way to run at medium speed, because it makes use of the springyness of the achiless tendon and the soleus (which is predominantly a slow muscle that doesn't like changing tension as quickly). If you want to use it as an excersice, it's fine, but don't overdo with the angle, the heel should be up to 5 cm above the ground, no more, if you straighten it too much, the leg becomes stiff and there's rigid loading on the ankle joint at an angle that the joint is not designed to handle and it would likely result in a repeated stress injury... which is bad.

>>14

Theory I heard once is that they force women to be less agile and mobile and sure-footed when they wear them- more vulnerable, as it were, which stimulates the whole "ooga booga me Tarzan PROTECT Jane" thing in men's brains.