The Stabilisation Academy

Can your client efficiently transfer from the ground to standing… or are they compensating the whole way up?

One of the most underrated movement assessments in rehab?
The transition from Tripod - high kneeling to standing.

From a Dynamic Neuromuscular Stabilization perspective, this movement tells us a huge amount about:
✔️ stability
✔️ foot function
✔️ weight transfer
✔️ trunk control
✔️ hip strategy
✔️ nervous system organisation

The body should be able to coordinate this movement efficiently using integrated stabilisation patterns developed through developmental physiology.

But what do we often see instead?

❌ collapsing feet
❌ poor pressure transfer
❌ hip shifting
❌ trunk instability
❌ momentum strategies
❌ compensation through the lumbar spine or knees

Adding a small amount of load during a Czech get-up progression is not just “strength work.”
It becomes a way to assess and facilitate efficient movement organisation through the entire kinetic chain.

This is why rehab should move beyond isolated exercises.

The foot, trunk, pelvis, and nervous system must work together.

Because sometimes the issue isn’t weakness…
It’s poor movement coordination.

Comment MASTERCLASS and I’ll send you the link to my free Foot & Ankle Stabilisation Masterclass.

Thongs aren’t just “unsupportive.”
They fundamentally change how the foot has to function - even the “arch support” ones !

To keep them on, your system relies on:
→ Toe gripping
→ Increased flexor dominance
→ Loss of natural foot recoil
→ Altered timing through midstance → propulsion

And this is where it matters 👇

When the toes are gripping to hold the shoe:
You lose the ability to create a stable, responsive foot tripod.

No tripod → no control
No control → compensation

And what you’ll often see clinically:
• Overactive long toe flexors
• Reduced big toe loading at terminal stance
• Poor propulsion mechanics
• Increased strain up the chain (Achilles, calf, knee)

This isn’t about “support vs no support.”

It’s about what strategy the nervous system is forced to use.

And thongs push people into a strategy that reinforces dysfunction.

👉 If you’re only prescribing exercises without addressing this, you’re missing a key driver.

🎯 Want to understand how to assess and retrain this properly?

Comment “masterclass” and I’ll send you the link to my Foot Stabilisation Masterclass

The big toe isn’t just another joint.
It’s the steering wheel of the entire lower limb.

If it doesn’t load, extend, and control properly…
everything else has to find a workaround.

And that’s where problems start 👇

Without effective 1st MPJ function:
→ You lose forward propulsion efficiency
→ The foot can’t transition cleanly through stance
→ The body shifts load elsewhere (often without you seeing it clearly)

So what do we get?

• Early heel lift or “bouncy” gait
• Lateral weight shift / avoidance patterns
• Increased demand on calf + Achilles
• Knee and hip compensation strategies

This isn’t a strength problem.
It’s a control + timing problem.

You can give all the calf raises you like…
but if the big toe isn’t doing its job, you’re building strength on dysfunction.

👉 The big toe dictates how the foot finishes movement.
And if you can’t finish well - you can’t move well.

🎯 Want to actually assess and retrain this in clinic?

Comment “masterclass” and I’ll send you the link to my FREE Foot Stabilisation Masterclass

Hamstring injuries aren’t just a hamstring problem.

In the Australian Football League, players are stronger, faster, and more conditioned than ever…

…and yet soft tissue injuries continue to happen.

So why?

Because this isn’t just about strength.

👉 It’s about timing
👉 Coordination
👉 Propulsion
👉 And how the whole system works together

From a DNS and foot function perspective, we need to ask:

✔️ Is the foot actually creating propulsion?
✔️ Is the first MTPJ doing its job?
✔️ Is sagittal trunk stabilisation supporting efficient movement?
✔️ Is footwear helping… or changing the way the system loads?

Because when:
❌ Timing is off
❌ Foot function is limited
❌ The system loses coordination

👉 The hamstrings often become the compensator.

You can strengthen something as much as you like…

👉 But if it doesn’t fire at the right time, within a well-coordinated system, it will continue to overload.

This month’s:
📖 Blog
🎧 Podcast
📰 Newsletter

…all dive into:
– AFL hamstring injuries
– First MTPJ function
– Footwear
– Sagittal trunk stabilisation
– DNS and movement timing

👉 Comment NEWSLETTER and I’ll send you the link.

After 30 years in podiatry… these are 4 things that changed how I assess and treat the foot.

1. The foot is not the problem - it’s the controller.
If it can’t organise load and stability, the rest of the system compensates.

2. Toe splay is everything.
When the toes are allowed to spread:
→ The intrinsic foot muscles can actually relax (not grip to create stability)
→ You gain more triple flexion through stance - ankle, knee and hip
→ The system can absorb and transfer load far more efficiently

3. Stability comes before strength.
If the foot can’t control position and timing, strengthening just reinforces compensation.

4. Most traditional exercises miss the point.
Calf raises, stretches, short foot…
They don’t address how the foot needs to function in gait.

👉 When you change the way the foot interacts with the ground, you change the entire movement strategy.

And it often starts with something as simple and as overlooked - as toe position.

🎯 Want to learn how to apply this clinically?

Comment “masterclass” and I’ll send you the link to my FREE Foot Stabilisation Masterclass for health and movement professionals.

The toes are often overlooked…
but they’re one of the clearest windows into the nervous system.

If you take the time to actually look, you’ll start to see patterns:

→ Clawing or gripping
→ Lack of toe splay
→ Drift or deviation
→ Inability to load through the 1st MPJ
→ Asymmetry side to side

These aren’t just “foot issues.”

They reflect how the system is organising itself under load.

From a DNS and stabilisation perspective, the toes give you insight into:
• How well the foot is creating a stable base
• Whether load is being transferred effectively through stance
• How the system is managing balance, timing and control

Because if the toes can’t adapt, spread, and stabilise, the body has to find another strategy.

And that’s where compensation begins.

👉 What you’re seeing at the toes is often the end result of a global strategy , but it’s also one of the easiest places to start changing it.

This is why simply strengthening or stretching locally isn’t enough.

We need to understand what the system is trying to do and why.

🎯 Want to learn how to apply this clinically?

Comment “masterclass” and I’ll send you the link to my free masterclass on Foot Stabilisation

We’ve normalised something that fundamentally disrupts foot function.

Putting feet into shoes that don’t match their natural shape.

Narrow toe boxes don’t just “compress” the toes
they change how the entire system behaves.

Over time, this leads to:
→ Reduced toe splay and sensory feedback
→ Loss of intrinsic muscle function
→ Altered load through the forefoot
→ Compromised stability at the base of support

And here’s where it matters clinically 👇

If the foot can’t adapt and stabilise effectively at ground level,
the body has no choice but to compensate further up the chain.

So we see:
• Inefficient gait mechanics
• Poor force distribution
• Increased reliance on proximal strategies
• Ongoing overload patterns that don’t resolve with “standard rehab”

This isn’t just a footwear issue.
It’s a neuromuscular control problem created by environment.

And yet… we keep normalising it.

👉 If we want better outcomes, we have to start addressing the inputs - not just the symptoms.

🎯 Want to understand how to assess and retrain foot stability properly?

Comment “masterclass” and I’ll send you the link to my FREE Foot Stabilisation Masterclass

Barefoot vs orthotics is a distraction.

It keeps clinicians focused on tools instead of function.

Because both can fail
➡️ if the foot lacks control

We need to shift the question:

❌ What should they wear?
✅ What can their foot actually do?
• Can they manage load?
• Can they control pronation timing?
• Can they transition into propulsion?

Without this…
we’re just changing external variables.

Not internal strategy.

👉 This is where stabilisation principles come in.

Because once you understand the “why”
the “what” becomes much clearer.

👉 Comment MASTERCLASS to learn how to apply this clinically.