Barefoot Running

The trend that is gaining the most momentum in the running community right now is barefoot running. There has been a backlash towards the companies that make running shoes that their shoes do not prevent injury but in fact they cause injuries in running. Some studies have found that running in shoes appears to increase the risk of ankle sprains, either by decreasing awareness of foot position or by increasing the twisting torque on the ankle during a stumble and running in shoes appears to increase the risk of plantar fasciitis and other chronic injuries of the lower limb by modifying the transfer of shock to muscles and supporting structures. The human foot evolved without padded shoes. The structure of the foot and lower leg is very efficient at absorbing the shock of landing and turning the energy of the fall into forward motion, through the springing action of the foot's natural arch. It is only by placing large amounts of padding under the heel that humans are able to land on the heel rather than the ball of the foot. In doing so, the foot's natural motion is impeded and the arch and lower leg are not able to absorb the shock of the landing. Instead, the shock is sent up through the heel, to the knees and hips.

The basic argument is that feet were meant to be run on and when you run in shoes that are built with shock abosrption and all the fancy technology that todays running shoes have, it changes the way your foot strikes the ground. This in turn changes how your body aborbs the shock and how you run, causing injuries. When you run on barefeet or on shoes with little support, your body will run the way it was intended to.

Some examples of this are illustrated in the book Born to Run which I have been listening to as an audiobook. Isolated by the most savage terrain in North America, the subject of this book are the reclusive Tarahumara Indians of Mexico’s deadly Copper Canyons. For centuries they have practiced techniques that allow them to run hundreds of miles without rest and chase down anything from a deer to an Olympic marathoner while enjoying every mile of it. They do not wear Nike's or New Balance shows but run on little pieces of leather that offer their foot no support whatsoever. Although barefoot running is not the main subject of this book, the author discusses it quite thoroughly. I have not verified any of this information but the book claims there have been no studies showing today's running shoe preventing injuries but in fact cause more injuries for runners. Apparantly the most expensive, technologically advanced shoes also cause the most injury. Like I said I did not study the articles in depth so I do not know how the studies were set up. There may well be causal relationships involved that are not discussed such as the runners who run more miles are more likely to buy the more expensive shoe and the mileage of the runner is the cause of the injuriesnot the shoe. However it appears that the running shoe is a probable cause of some injuries.

Although there is no clear consensous among experts about this subject, I have to admit that I am intrigued. I believe that the human body is pretty darn good at functioning all on it's own so the idea that shoes may be causing injuries makes some sense to me. Humans seemed to be able to run fairly well and injury free in the past without Nikes or New Balances.

Running in barefeet however is not very practical. If you are running on a street you are likely to run on a surface that has debris (glass, pebbles etc.)which can be painful if your feet lands on them. I also think there might be an issue with running barefoot on a treadmill at the gym. Obviously trail running could also be difficult. I suppose the bottom of your foot would toughen up but running on literal bare feet I would not be a fan of. I really don't want my foot to look like this:


Several companies have come up with shoes that mimick the concept of barefeet but provide a barrier, the most well known being Five Fingers. Their shoe looks like this:

I admit, they are a little silly looking but I am kinda getting over caring how I look to other people. I have looked silly in the past and I will look silly again, a sacrifice I am willing to make if I can run healthy. Besides I wear toes socks and I like them quite a bit and think they look super cool;)

You can't just switch from regular running shoes to these guys though, your body needs to adjust to your new form first and break in your feet again. They reccomend walking around in them first then gradually adding jogging and running and then increasing distance.

I like the back to the basics concept of barefoot running. I don't like that has become somewhat trendy. I would like to try the Five Fingers to see how my feet and my body respond though. Maybe after Christmas I can buy a pair and give them a try. If I do, I am sure to post a review!