Why the Feet Matter More Than You Think for Brain and Body Health

Movement, balance, and stability are not just about strength. They are about how the brain receives and processes sensory information.

In this episode of Beyond My Diagnosis, Michele sits down with Dr. Emily Splichal, functional podiatrist, human movement specialist, and founder of Naboso, to explore how sensory stimulation from the feet plays a critical role in balance, posture, walking speed, and long term mobility.

Dr. Emily shares how her background in conventional podiatric medicine combined with movement science and sensory research led her to challenge traditional approaches to foot health. The conversation explores how improving sensory input can support people living with neurological conditions, chronic illness, and mobility challenges, as well as athletes and anyone focused on aging well.

In this episode, we discuss:
• What functional podiatry is and how it differs from traditional models
• Why the feet are deeply connected to the nervous system
• How sensory stimulation supports balance and postural control
• The relationship between walking speed, step length, and longevity
• Why single leg stability matters for everyday function
• How textured sensory tools can support neuro rehabilitation
• The role of curiosity and education in managing chronic conditions
• How Michele uses sensory feedback tools to support movement with MS

This episode offers a hopeful and practical look at how small sensory inputs can create meaningful changes in how we move, feel, and engage with the world, beyond any diagnosis.

Links mentioned in the episode:
https://naboso.com
micheleweston.substack.com

ABOUT THE GUEST

Dr. Emily Splichal is a functional podiatrist and human movement specialist known for her innovative work in barefoot science, sensory stimulation, and rehabilitation. She is the founder of Naboso, a company rooted in the belief that sensory input is essential to how the brain and body function together.

With a conventional Doctor of Podiatric Medicine degree and years of experience in human movement and sensory science, Dr. Emily has built a unique approach that challenges conformity in traditional foot health and rehabilitation models.

Since 2012, she has traveled internationally sharing her work on foot function, sensory integration, and barefoot training. Dr. Emily has taught in more than 35 countries and educated over 25,000 professionals, making her a globally recognized leader in movement education and sensory based rehabilitation.

Her work emphasizes how sensory stimulation influences posture, balance, cognition, and quality of life across the lifespan.

Transcript

Speaker: 0:02

(Music) Hello, this is Michelle Weston with Beyond My Diagnosis, a show about living your best life with a chronic condition. Now, you know that every week I have amazing people to interview and talk to. But this week, this is a woman who is an podiatrist like my father was. And what I am just amazed about what Dr. Emily has created with Neboso. So Neboso is this incredible product that my NS physical therapist introduced to me. They are these inserts that have almost like tactile point, like you'd be walking on a mat that would give you feedback for your feet. These are insoles for your shoes. And that's just a little bit of what Dr. Emily and Neboso has created, not just for chronic conditions. So what is even cooler is that she's working with athletes. And so you're gonna see tennis players working with all of the modules and the tools that help them develop balance and agility. And those of us who are dealing with something that affects that, well, here's an opportunity to be able to use something at home that will help you. And so on that note, Dr. Emily, can you let our audience know of our listeners why you created this? Absolutely, and thank you for having me on. So as a podiatrist, I'm actually a functional podiatrist. Which is different, you guys, which is cooler because I'm an integrative health and wellness coach, so I get functional podiatrists. So what's the difference between regular podiatry and functional podiatry? Yeah, so functional podiatry is looking at the body as a whole system, integrated, our feet are obviously integrated into our other muscles, our pelvic floor, our diaphragm. There's fascial lines or slings within the body, which is connective tissue connecting one muscle to another muscle. And these run from the bottom of the foot, up the leg, pelvic floor diaphragm, up the neck, tongue, so it's a spider web of stability. But I also look at, from a functional perspective, stress, diet, emotions, sleep, all of these. So almost like functional movement, functional medicine equals functional podiatry, I could say. Which is cool, it's 2026. We're trying to create things. I love biomedicine, but I also love integrative medicine, because I think that they work well together. Right, so to hear that you're a functional podiatrist is very helpful to me. Yes, have I met functional internists? Yes, I have. And normally, people who do pain management have a better understanding that the body is on a meridian, that the body is whole. And to utilize something like these, it reminds me of acupuncture. That's what it feels like to me, not hurting. So needles don't hurt. When you have acupuncture, they don't hurt. Every once in a while, they hit a spot, and it may hurt as it goes in like a zing. But these give you feedback. And they have a website, n-a-b-o-s-o.com, neboso.com, and you, or your loved one, or your doctor may want to know about this. Because this is a new science. It's also a new tool. How did you decide that it was going to also help athletes and chronic condition patients? Because we normally don't see those two together. Yeah, no, I love it. So I want to first share that so the listeners understand that all of the nevoso products are stimulating waking up a very specific nerve in the bottom of the feet and technically in the hands because our products can be used in the hand as well. I have one of those. The ball, the ball is great. There's different nerve endings in our hands and in our feet. They are nerves. And one of those nerves is sensitive to texture or really is called two-point discrimination. The best analogy would be braille. So next time you go to an ATM, look at the braille dots, push your finger on the braille dots, and the braille dots will make a pattern very similar to what the nevoso does on your on your skin. And that is two-point discrimination. Okay. So when you relate with that stimulus, like braille or the nevoso products, you are building awareness. You are just waking up the brain's perception of that body part, the feet, and the feet are on the ground. So now you feel the ground faster. You feel the ground with every step that you're taking so that you can stabilize and adjust to every step. So now you can start to see how someone with MS and maybe a tennis or a basketball player would respond to that, right? Right. So as you're getting feedback and that's what you want, you know, with MS, sometimes, you know, we all, and you out there, everyone has different symptoms. I happen to have ended up with drop foot from the beginning 25 years ago, and it's never left. So it's one of my symptoms that stayed forever. Some people have incontinence, bowel and bladder. Some people have optic neuritis. Some people have a lot of pain. There's all different things that the body does. And it's never one thing for somebody with MS. And I'm sure for neurological conditions, they probably would say the same thing. I know with fibromyalgia, it's the same sort of situation. I know that people with rheumatoid arthritis would benefit from this, be able to get some feedback for their hands or their feet. So it's just a very creative, very smart way of doing something that I think people can benefit from. How did you start the line? Did you start with the insoles? Where did you start? Or did it just sort of grow? Did it just grow? Yes. So yeah, it snowballed definitely into something, a different entity than what I anticipated. It started as our first product being a yoga mat. So it was a barefoot training surface. So imagine that insole, but in a yoga mat size. Okay. They have tiny little pyramids on it for the listeners if they could imagine. And why I was developing that is that my background is in fitness and athletics. So I was thinking about the athlete initially, the athlete who was going to take their shoes off because this was in the trend of the barefoot running boom and the barefoot shoe boom, all of this. And mind you, I didn't launch our first product until 2017, 18. So there was a time in there, but more and more people were into, okay, the foot is a sensory structure. And they kind of left it at that, which is why we did the mat. Then after that, people were saying, well, I want the stimulation, but I don't do yoga. I don't work out like that. Like how do I bring it into it? Which led to the insole idea. Okay. And so the research around texture is about insole. So it was a thing that people are like, how do I bring sensory into a shoe? Right. I do want to share how we went from fitness and performance to MS. Okay. So specifically, I was introduced to IMSMP in New York. Right. Right. Which is the International MS Practice Services. So I've been with Dr. Sadiq and the other doctors there for 25 years. And it is its own island. It's its own special place. It's not attached to a hospital. That means that if you need to use your insurance, it's not the best choice because you're not going to be able to do that. But they find ways to help in regards to having your infusions and having all of those things, if that's who you chose. It's a special place, but people come from all over the world to the IMSMP and the Tisch Research Center, which is what Dr. Sadiq has created his own island of looking for the cause of the E-curve for MS. Yes, absolutely. And I love that. So I was doing a workshop with my two products, Insoles on the Mat, to personal trainers and to strength coaches. One of them, one of the trainers or coaches, happened to have MS. And then he shared with me and I was like, what? Like it just, and then he introduced me to Dr. Sadiq. There you go. Yeah, it was crazy. That was crazy. And then I was like, oh my gosh. And then it opened up this whole world of the power of NABOSO in neuro rehab. So NABO Medical Division that focuses on the neuro rehab. Initially again, it was fitness and athletic performance. Okay. I love that. I mean, it's just, it's so special and people can use it at home. So I'm curious myself. What happened during the pandemic? Were you guys busy because people needed to do things at home? Yes. We actually did an entire rebrand and relaunch during COVID. Summer 2020 is crazy. Crazy, but fabulous. But yeah, it was actually a really good time for us because people could not go to their physical therapy. So they had to do the physical therapy at home, a hundred percent. So yeah, it was a springboard to help us get to where we are now. And what is really exciting also is that the utility of our technology, which just means what do you put it on? And what is the benefit? So the utility of our texture, which is actually patented. We just got our fifth patent last week. Yay. Very exciting. And we have spider webbed out and that's where we have additional products that you set. So now we have over 40 skews or 40 different. Which initially it was like a mat and an insole and people were like, are you in company? And I was like, I don't know. But yeah. But you know what? I think that sometimes it has to be that amorphous. It has to sort of grow from you start it and then you see how it spiderwebs and you see, okay, what would I attach to this? Because this is working. So as you said, this man who had a mess, who was a trainer suddenly said, God, it will be great if you could, you know what I mean? And suddenly you think about something you didn't think about. Getting that feedback is important. You know, feeling is important in your feet. And that's a way to create that. Have you found that the insoles work best in a sneaker in a tennis shoe? Yes. So to get the best results with the insole, and this is an important consideration because I read all of the textured insole research studies. Sometimes you will see different outcomes. Okay. Because when you look at a shoe, what's affecting the sensation of the foot, individual is how much cushion is in the shoe. Is there a stiff midsole? What is the softness of the insole in it? Meaning are you putting it on top of something soft? So soft surfaces, cushion, pillow, mattress, all of that is sensorily damping. It's going to take away the sensory input. Whereas stiffer surfaces, stiffer shoes, shoe with stiff midsole, which is the part of the shoe that makes it under your arch. She like where your arch is. Yeah. The middle of the foot. The middle of the foot. That will increase the sensory stimulation to the foot. So to answer your question, you would want to get the best results with the insole by putting it in a shoe that is a little bit stiffer. Okay. And then when you wear the shoe, you want to wear no socks or thin socks. Because that's the... Oh! Oh, I didn't know that. Oh, that's so helpful. All right, you guys. No socks or thin socks. Cool. Yeah. Because if you put thick, fluffy, thinking like winter, it's going to be difficult to feel through those. So that's where everything that encounters your foot could potentially be a sensory disruptor. Okay. And in the space where I look at movement accuracy, movement perception, movement longevity, reducing falls, all of that is very much about I need the individual to have as much quantity and quality of sensory coming in. I love that. I love that. What have you found the wedges helpful with for MS? Is there something that even your trainer thought, how do we use? Because they're a smaller platform. They're a smaller surface than some of us when we go to PT, we get these bigger surfaces. You and I were talking about that for a minute. I see it when I watch the videos, regards to Tense Player, Sabalenka. You're seeing how she is using it. You're watching how that's occurring. I'm jealous when I see the guy doing it and literally balancing on one foot on the wedge. I'm just like, "Oh man, that is so cool." And on the green one, right? Yeah. Yeah. So the green board that's called our Kinesis board, so just in case people want to know the name of it, it is a small platform. It is a single leg platform. Now this is different, but it's intentionally different because we are trying to emphasize the importance of single leg stability. And I get this in every chronic condition, movement disorder, et cetera. The goal is to keep you walking. That's really the goal. Moving, but walking is the movement. When we walk, one of the most important positions for you to achieve is a single leg balance. Single leg balance is how we are able to take long steps. So walking speed, I educate and speak a lot around walking speed. Walking speed is actually a predictor of longevity, where if you slow your walking speed, obviously, you could assume. That's a good thing. What allows you to maintain sufficient walking speed is actually step length. Sometimes people think it's a bunch of short little staccotic steps, but you walk like a little bunny rabbit, right? Lots of little steps. What happens up the chain is that you don't need to rotate your pelvis and your T spine. So you actually lose these rotations of the spinal system that are needed for feeding your fascia. And your fascia has over 100 million sensory nerves. So I consider it an extension of your brain. You don't get that when you take short little steps. So we want to be taking long steps that require arm swing. So that, think like mall walking or New York City. Yeah, mall walking. Lots of people walk in the mall, especially like Florida, where it's hot, you go into the mall because it's air conditioned. Totally right. New York City, yes, we walk everywhere. Yeah, all of that, right? That's one of my favorite things about New York is it just like it recalibrates the system because it's a walking city. Yeah. But again, so we want to be able to take long steps. To take a long step, you have to have single leg stability. That's where we're using that Kinesis board. Got it. And I also teach people, not necessarily on the board, how to challenge balance without thinking you have to go on harder and harder surfaces, like more challenging surfaces. You can use things like move your eyes side to side. You could stimulate your vestibular system. You can do cognitive tasks. You could do things eye hand. There's other ways that you can do it without literally saying, "I need to do this." Then I go on an Eric's pad. Then I'm on a Bosu. Then I'm on a Physioball. I don't know what you're doing. All those things, right. Very dangerous. Okay. I believe if you are doing them at home alone, unsupervised, and maybe you do have something like MS, you want to be safe, challenging. Right. But I'm going to tell you that my socks, and I was saying to Dr. Emily, "I'm missing one of my gray socks that has green points inside it." Especially in New York, you're using big machines. You're just like, "Where did the sock go? It was in a little mesh bag. Where did the sock go?" But what I use them for, Dr. Emily, is I use them because I do Pilates because I love the balance and sentry. Yes. They're perfect for that because I'm getting stimulus inside the sock while I'm doing the Pilates and I'm also getting the grip, which I need for the bar because I work on a reformer. It's heaven. I mean, everybody's been asking me in my classes, like, "What are you wearing?" I'm like, "These are in Bosu. This is what I do. I need feedback for my feet." People are fascinated because they don't know. You're introducing them to something. We can talk. I'll talk to Angel about that. There's such an opportunity to teach club Pilates here in New York because there's a number of them and let people understand what you're talking about, this whole physiology and this whole feedback because Pilates is something that you're getting feedback for your feet. The better feedback you get, imagine introducing these little points that help give you feedback because your foot is bare into the sock. You don't have a sock on within the sock. It's such a treat to be able to utilize them, not just for walking, but I can just take my socks and use them. Can you also talk about, last thing, the splay? You have the, which helps at the end of the day. That's where I actually find it. What made you think of using this silicone splay that we've seen in different formats from other companies, but I kind of like Nibosu as the best. Well, thank you so much. Well, I could do it. I tried a lot of them and then suddenly I get Nibosu. I am a big fan. I love it. So yeah, so our toe spacers, which is what the splay are, just in case the listeners don't know that. Toe spacers in general. So let's say any brand that you're using, if you are using toe spacers, you are stretching the toes so you are reinforcing natural toe alignment, which I love. That's a benefit. You are theoretically stretching your plantar fascia. If anyone has ever had plantar fasciitis, these are really good for us. Neuromas, hammertoes, bunions, metatarsalges. These are all kind of where you could think like, what are... Prana conditions, right? Prana conditions that people have with their feet. Yeah. But also toe spacers, because your toes are so important for balance, I actually think of toe spacers as a balance tool. So it is a balance aid to have your toes open. So I encourage people to do balance exercises with the toe spacers on. Yes. And then our toe spacers, what makes them unique from some of the other ones, not all, but some of the other ones, is they hook around the toes so they stay on really well. They are a soft, very stretchy material. I do apologize. They do not one down here. No, no, no. They are. They're a silicone and they're very cool guys because they really just, you know, you slip them onto your toes. It has like a little boop. And at the end of the day, with drop foot, you have a tendency to grab with your toes. So imagine the cramping that you get in your toes. So I put those on at the end of the day and suddenly I am. I'm letting my toes rest and relax and get longer, you know, to stop being so tense, so clenched. Does that make sense? Yeah. Yeah. I will say on that because this is an important, subtle distinction on it. When I work with patients who do have hammer toes, that's essentially what you're describing, right? Which is with that mass, especially could be on one side that you see it maybe a little bit more. It's on one side for me because it's just the right foot. So that's the foot that's just, you know, we all have one side, right? Right, right. When you pull in, it's just a progression of the condition, the diagnosis of the MS. But when it pulls in, eventually those toes reach a point that they're rigid. And the way that you can determine this is if you take your toes and they're contracted and you try to pull it straight, if the toe goes straight and then it goes boop and it recoils back in, it's still technically flexible. If you try to pull and you pull and you pull and it's not moving anywhere, it's rigid. We said that if someone has rigid hammer toes and they're like, "Why would I use toe spacers? My toes are stuck like this," you still want to create space between every toe. Because normally where a patient will get pain with rigid hammer toes is between. It's like all the knuckles of the toes hit each other and then really pain. All of our toe bones have little condyles on them, the little ridges. And those condyles hit each other and then you can get really painful corns between your toes. So they'll want to open them up. Now you really do. And you know that it's just something that my show is going to actually go to YouTube and that will be another interview with you because they'll get to see us. Right now they just get to hear us. But what Dr. Emily is talking about, these are tools and as a health and wellness coach, one of the most important things is we're always looking for tools and strategies. What Neboso has created and what Dr. Emily is talking about is tools like the splay of your toes, like putting these in your shoes, using the rod to help you move in space so you have better balance and you have less low back pain. That's what you're trying to do. You're trying to get your spine back in a place where it doesn't feel as stressed, where it doesn't feel as painful. It even helps with hips. You'd be surprised how much it helps people with bursitis dealing with a labral hip tear. These are things that happen as with many who may know someone with drop foot or have drop foot, one leg will be stronger than the other. So it's weird. But my right, my left leg is much more muscular than my right leg is. With Neboso, I have now an opportunity to rebalance and recalibrate. I'm interested in working with physical therapists I do to see if we can find that happy medium using Neboso because I think it's really a great tool. I really, really do. Thank you so much for coming on so quickly. We've been trying to meet together. Yes, I will go tag Dr. Emily again because I would like you guys to see some of the tools and that will be a chance for you guys to see some of it. But go to the site again is? Neboso.com and it's NABOSO.com. I will tell listeners so they can remember it. Neboso is a check word that means barefoot. There you go guys. So be at law, put it into your Google and say barefoot Russian. It'll pull up that word. You really are. You created something so valuable and will help so many over the decades. And if you guys are tennis players, Saba Lanka is using it. So I'm loving seeing her on one of the videos, even on the ads. It's an important thing that Dr. Emily has done and I look forward to her being able to help more and more people with chronic conditions and more athletes to perform better. And with that said, we all want to perform better. So on that note, Dr. Emily, thank you again so much. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Beyond the Diagnosis. If something we talked about today resonated with you, if you're craving deeper understanding, better support, we just want to know you're not alone on this journey. Make sure to subscribe to my free substack at michelleweston.substack.com. That's where I share personal insights. Expert takeaways and extra resources to help you stay informed, empowered, and one step closer to the clarity you deserve. And if you found this episode helpful, leave a review or share it with someone who needs to hear it. Your voice helps this message go further. Until next time, keep asking questions, keep trusting yourself, and keep going Beyond the Diagnosis.