Today's tale of finding truth somewhere in the middle begins with toe spacers. Ya know, those freaky silicone things that your favorite movement or yoga influencer tells you that you need to have?

I've used toe spacers and minimalist shoes for years, on a journey of "rewilding" my feet. After years of conventional footwear that was too narrow and restrictive, I discovered Vibram Fivefingers. After a month of wearing them for short periods each day, I had outgrown all my shoes!

I've been a fan of free feet ever since.

When my brother-in-law asked for my recommendation for a pair of toe spacers, I sent him my favorite options on Amazon. They ranged from comfortable to durable. He settled on the pair that was comfortable and wore them every day.

Being a good BIL and coach, I checked in on him and his progress. He'd often say that he liked them and was feeling good. One day he sent me a link from Conor Harris, of Pinnacle Performance. It was titled, "Toe Spacers Might Be Making You Worse".

Through the video, Conor explains how the fitness and rehab industry tends to latch onto the "one true fix" to problems. He then talks about the complex movements that toes make when we walk. This is a direct quote that I loved.

"I hope we can all agree that a healthy foot has the ability to change shape and move into different positions, depending on the context of where we are in movement" - Conor Harris

Context matters. Having feet that can spread out isn't the same as having feet that always spread out. So toe spreaders can be good in some situations, but our goal shouldn't be perpetually spread orangutan toes.

One of my favorite postural frameworks is, "Your best posture is your next posture". I think I can attribute that to my dear friend, Dr Parth Niak. This means, moving around often and freely. It's sitting in one posture for prolonged amounts of time that creates stiffness and dysfunction.

Summary : Smashed and crowded toes aren't good. Constantly spread toes aren't good. Your foot should be mobile instead of locked into a posture.

Meta-summary : extremes often leave an imbalance or partial truth. Our minds want to do this with many subjects, but fitness seems to fall into the trap the most.

I'll leave you with a quote from Conor that seems like wisdom I would have heard and ignored from my elders when I was younger...

Everything has a time and a place. - Conor Harris