BARELY RUNNING...A GUIDE TO MINIMAL FOOTWEAR DURING ACTIVITY

Most of us spend a large portion of our day in our shoes, at work, play, and at home. And when we are outside of our footwear, we are likely to be walking on a flat surface on the ground or floor. Over time, our natural abilities to balance properly and respond quickly with our feet diminish, leading to postural stress and strains that affect the way we function during activities of daily living. Recently, the introduction of barefoot running shoes seems to fit a balance for those who want to restore natural walking and running form while still having the protection of a shoe. There are benefits to walking and running on bare feet, but not without risks.

Barefoot running shoes have gained much attention and popularity over the last few years for several good reasons. The shoes have an interesting look and also provide protection to our feet in a very natural posture. These shoes also propose to enhance our fundamental ability to walk and run in the most natural human form-barefooted. Walking barefoot can improve your balance and develop the tissue strength of your feet. However, if your foot is flat, if you suffer from foot dysfunction, or are overweight, walking or running with barefoot shoes will aggravate the problem, not correct them.

Some people are attracted to the novelty of using barefoot shoes and want to begin walking or running using them for the benefit of their health. In this instance, a person may not be a walker or runner to begin with, and immediately uses barefoot shoes without any time for their feet to acclimate to the weight bearing activity. To prevent overuse injuries to the feet, take the time to walk or jog with regular running shoes first, and transition to short durations of time on barefoot shoes. Barefoot running shoes tend to make people be barefoot for too long, and thus, exaggerate bad foot mechanics.

Finally, walking or running barefoot is a profoundly different activity than walking and running in regular shoes. Barefoot mechanics typically causes a person to bear weight predominantly on the forefoot, while padded shoes and heels tend to cause one to have a heavier heel strike during walking and running. The body takes time to adjust to these biomechanical changes.

The verdict...each individual is going to have different needs and time to transition to using barefoot shoes. If you are interested in the health benefits of walking and weight bearing on bare feet, wear regular shoes first. When your body is ready, use barefooted shoes for short periods (like 5-10 minutes per session) and have the regular shoes with you to change into for the remainder of the activity.