Could some of your pain and injuries be related to your shoes?

I recently came across an article on Dr. Daniel Howell, a biology professor who hikes and runs without shoes.  He has been running barefoot for almost two years and has been studying the benefits of going shoeless.

He thinks that shoes can contribute to flat feet and fallen arches.  Women who wear high heels comes to mind.  While working in chiropractic and physical therapy clinics, I saw more than one woman with plantarfasciitis, who wore heels all the time.

Men who wear lace-up boots with a decent sized heel are not immune either.  This can lead to tightness in your achilles tendon, over time.  This can also create problems further up the chain, in your knees or hips.

Besides spending time without shoes, you can increase your ankle mobility with some specific measures.

I’ve worn Nike Free’s in the past and noticed a difference in my posture and how I moved.  You use your glutes more when your foot isn’t supported or elevated.

Howell says that it takes a while to toughen your feet for barefoot running and you need to be patient as this process occurs.  He thinks that hiking without shoes is easier to get used to as your skin gets tougher – not quite as abrasive as concrete.

I also recently read some seminar notes from Dr. Shawn Allen.  His presentation on the different types of shoes and how they affect your feet sounds interesting.  The big picture he painted was that the wrong type of shoe for your foot can cause lots of problems.

Some people are now doing their strength training in minimally supportive “shoes”, like the Vibram five fingers, in order to strengthen the foot and lower leg.

If you would like more info on running barefoot, go to barefootrunner.org.  I think you might find it interesting.

Brian Morgan

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