This area of the foot is part of the forefoot, housing the metatarsal heads and top halves of the five metatarsal bones. The fleshy section of the ball is located under the joints that bend the toes at their base. This top sector of the ball of the foot contains the metatarsal heads, and the rest of the ball holds the long metatarsal bones. Various muscles, tendons, and ligaments work to hold the bones together.

Let your fingers trace the top of the foot, and you will feel the metatarsals. The first bone is short and wide, and the other four are thin and long. Look at the sole now and see how the entire ball of the foot puffs out, just like the chest region of the body.

If you pull the top of the foot down toward the sole, a natural line will appear under the ball of the foot, which is the diaphragm line. The entire region from under the toes, which is the shoulder line, to this line in the arch is the area we are dealing with now.

This part of the foot holds reflexes for the heart, lungs, trachea, bronchioles, breast, some of the skeletal system, and the upper back. The reflex for the thymus gland is found here as well as reflexes of the lymphatic system. The areas of representation are fairly straightforward, although some regions do overlap. For the most part, the locations of the reflexes are exactly where you would imagine them to be.