The Pinky Toe Has A Purpose And Most People Are Just Finding Out

Human toes, long removed from their tree-gripping days, are mostly noticed only when they are stubbed or exposed in sandals.

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Losing the ability to grip branches with them may seem like a backward step, given how much cooler our commutes would be if we swung into work like Tarzan. However, the shorter, stubbier little piggies we are stuck with now give us several advantages, including helping us to run.

In one 2009 experiment, researchers tested the efficiency of various toe lengths in humans, finding that individuals with longer toes had to expend a lot more energy to run, suggesting an advantage for smaller toes for us bipeds. Another study found, however, that sprinters tend to have longer toes, getting a short burst of speed advantage in return for a lot more expended energy.

Even the little pinky, which looks like a contender for the most pointless appendage on the human body, does its job and does it well. Though all of the toes are used in keeping us balanced and moving forward, the toe sometimes refused to as the "little piggy" has a surprisingly important role.

"The purpose of the pinky toe is to provide balance and propulsion," podiatrist Dr Bruce Pinker from Progressive Foot Care told How Stuff Works. "As one takes a step, the foot rolls from lateral to medial in normal foot biomechanics."

The toe's knuckle plays a more important role than several of its neighbors.

“We walk like a tripod fashion, where the big toe knuckle, the fifth toe knuckle and the heel, have a tripod walking ability,” Dr Wenjay Sung, attending physician at White Memorial Medical Group told PopSci. “If you remove one part of that tripod, you lose balance.”

People are, of course, born without pinky toes, or lose them later due to illness or accidents, and are able to adjust to walking without. However, it can lead to an altered gait, or even falls from imbalance. So show a little appreciation for the fingers of the feet.

An earlier version of this article was published in 2023.