So how many bones ARE there in a human foot?

Those of you who participated in our Facebook teaser may wonder why totting up the number of bones in the picture didn't automatically equate to a correct answer (26).

If you open a basic anatomy textbook (or Google the question 'how many bones are there in the human foot' then this is, indeed, the answer you are likely to get:

• Seven tarsal bones (Medial, intermediate and lateral cuneiforms; cuboid, talus, navicular, and calcaneus).
• Five metatarsals
• Fourteen palanges – the big toe only has two, the other toes have three (actually to an embryologist, they all have three: the medial cuneiform starts life as a metatarsal; the navicular, which forms the keystone of the longitudinal arch, as a cuneiform and the metatarsal in actually an elongated proximal phalanx).

Total 26.


However …

This ignores the fact that othopaedists will also include the fibula and tibia which are functionally part of the foot, being connected to it by the medial and lateral collateral ligaments – the ones you sprain when you twist your angle.

So that's 28.



Or the fact that the majority of adults have two additional sesamoid bones underneath their big toe, like miniature kneecaps.

So that's 30.




However …

These bones can commonly be bipartate, that is formed in two parts – so that makes 31 … or 32 – and other bones can also be formed in two parts.




However …

There are also dozens of of other, less common, anatomical variants including up to twenty other sesamoid bones, of which the most common is the os trigonum followed by other sesamoidal toe bones.

However …

You can also have extra bones – particularly toes (Anne Boleyn famously has six toes and fingers – and a supernumerary nipple – which helped fuel the assertion she was a witch). Extra toes can form in several ways, with a variety of extra bones forming.




And finally …


You are actually born with just 22 bones in your foot. Several of the tarsal bones are still just cartilage  at birth that gradually develop into bone as you grow over the first decade or so of life. So children have fewer bones initially; however, some bones have more that one ossification centre, which makes it appear that, at some points in time, they have more than 26 bones … or 30 bones … or (my favourite answer), "lots".

Thanks to all who took part.

Plantar Fasciitis may be a common cause of foot pan … but it’s not the ‘sole’ cause.

Plantar Fasciitis may be a common cause of foot pan … but it’s not the ‘sole’ cause.

When it comes to feet there is a medical truism: we all take them completely for granted – until they start to go wrong!

Complaints about foot and ankle pain are a daily presentation to any chiropractic clinic; particularly so at Yeovil Chiropractic Clinic, where we normally have a podiatrist (foot specialist) working alongside us (get well soon, Robin!). 

Although the complaint itself may appear simple, the underlying causes can often be complex – did you know that a quarter of all the bones in your body are in your foot?To make matters worse, foot problems aren’t just caused by feet.  They can also be the result of knee, hip and low back dysfunction and it’s important that any treatment takes this holistic approach.

 Of the dozens of possible diagnoses, which can include congenital variants, neuromas, stress fractures, arthropathies, sprains, strains, bursitis, tendinopthies and fat pad pathologies we, in this country, appear to have a fixation with one condition – plantar fasciitis (pronounced ‘fash-ee-eye-tis’).

Of course plenty of people do present with plantar fasciitis – it’s a common condition in middle and old age.  It’s caused by inflammation in the soft tissues that make up the arch of the foot – so if your pain isn’t in that area, it isn’t plantar fasciitis.  The onset is usually quite sudden and associated with an obvious cause (change in footwear, walking barefoot, trekking across cobbled streets) and treatment should comprise two elements: symptom relief and determining the reason for the dysfunction and not just the cause of the onset – are the bones of the foot aligned properly? Are the muscles working properly? Is there damage to the ligaments? Are the legs functioning in a balanced and symmetrical manner? Are the nerves that control the feet working as they ought?

The symptoms are usually easy to control: medical treatment usually involves drugs to control the inflammation and advice about footwear (Crocks are our top tip) but if you want the treatment to be as effective as possible and minimise the chances of it coming back you need to ask the basic question: ‘why have I got this problem?’

…and if you feet aren’t giving you any grief, perhaps you should ask yourself ‘what can I do to keep it that way?’ – like many musculoskeletal conditions, the signs are normally there for the expert eye to detect before things actually start hurting: so are you taking your feet for granted?