Mitigating stress: exploring how our feet change shape with size

If human skeletal shape increases proportionally with size (isometric scaling), we would expect exponential increases in joint contact stress as individuals become larger. However, if skeletal shape changes as a function of size (allometric scaling), this can mitigate increases in joint contact stress by changing the surface area (SA)-to-volume ratio. Here, we explored whether human foot bones scale with allometry and, if so, to identify the shape features that are associated with bone size. Computed tomography scans of the two largest foot bones (talus, calcaneus) were obtained from 36 healthy individuals. We implemented a scaling analysis for each joint articular surface and bone. We performed a Procrustes ANOVA to establish the shape features associated with bone size. In line with our hypothesis, articular surfaces on the calcaneus scaled with positive allometry relative to bone volume, whereas total bone SA scaled with negative allometry. This indicates that articular surfaces grew at a faster rate than the overall bone SA. Interestingly, the calcaneus appeared more cube-like with increasing size. This may be important for the mitigation of internal bone stresses with increasing skeletal size. Our findings suggest distinct but varied scaling strategies within the foot. This may reflect the requirement to maintain healthy joint contact and internal bone stresses with increasing size.