Jan Bruckner, a professor of physical therapy at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, strides across campus on a balmy morning, heading for a 10 a.m. appointment at the Human Performance Laboratory. There, Gary Sylvester, one of Bruckner's students, nervously waits. He has responded to her standing offer to examine any pupil who complains of foot pain.There, Gary Sylvester, one of Bruckner’s students, nervously waits. He has responded to her standing offer to examine any pupil who complains of foot pain.
Sylvester frets that his complaint is trivial, and when Bruckner begins the evaluation by asking his age, he is so nervous he snaps to attention. “Twenty-three,” he announces. “All of 23?” says an older woman being treated for a serious foot problem in the same lab. She chuckles, then sighs and listens jealously as Sylvester explains that he runs 15 miles a week. His feet rub inside his shoes, get raw around the toes, and develop blisters. “Anything else?” Bruckner asks. “Any other problems?” That’s it.
She listens as Sylvester describes how he has been plagued by blisters since he ran track in high school. He had come to accept them, but now he has begun to wonder why other runners don’t have this problem. What’s wrong with his feet?
Sitting down to face Sylvester, Bruckner lifts one foot toward her and gently manipulates the joints from toe to heel, focusing on his hindfoot. Clamping the forefoot in one hand and bracing it on her thigh, Bruckner flexes the heel and wiggles it from side to side. It’s a good thing you came in, she says. The blisters are harbingers of real trouble. Structurally, Sylvester’s feet are the feet of the future, the next evolutionary step for humans, but as yet no shoe store stocks sneakers to accommodate them.
