Why your shoes may be doing more harm than good
- Kieran Hennig
- Jan 12, 2023
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 19, 2023
Summary The foot was designed through the evolutionary process, allowing humans to walk upright. There is evidence coming out to support the barefoot movement. This may be common sense and intuitive for those who have dysfunctional feet possibly caused from chronic and habitual footwear. However, those that do not suffer from wearing conventional shoes, may not realize the benefits of going barefoot despite not necessarily requiring to transition from conventional shoes to either a barefoot or minimalist shoe lifestyle. The transition from modern shoes to a barefoot lifestyle is a long process, requiring patience and consistent strength and conditioning exercises.
Humans have physiologically evolved to be able to walk upright without the aid of shoes. Shoes, in the scheme of human evolution are extremely new. Despite many people having success in sport wearing conventional modern-day shoes as well as every day people going through life without any foot problems, a lot of people do have foot issues and strengthening their feet may be the solution.
BENEFITS
Walking in minimalist shoes uses muscles that wouldn’t otherwise be used. This results in stronger muscles. An augmentation in the foot muscles may improve the gait and balance of the individual [1].
A complete absence of foot deformities was found in a non-shod population, this may suggest that foot deformities are caused by shoes whether they’re ill fitting or not [2]. Whilst shoes may be necessary for some populations, shoes that fail to “respect natural foot shape and function will ultimately alter the morphology and the biomechanical behavior of the foot” [3]
Footwear “can constrict the structure and function of the foot” [4]. Another study found that habitual footwear use had some negative impacts on the functioning of the foot [5]. This suggests that practicing barefoot or minimalist shoe walking allows the feet to function properly.
Improved arch strength [6] as well as arch structure [7].
Stronger foundational muscles in the feet and legs may have the capacity for beneficial upstream effects on the body. Possibility in improving posture and potentially ameliorating hip and back pain. The evidence is lacking for this claim; however, some medical opinions may also agree.
Improved mental health when going barefoot in nature. This stems from an idea known as psychological restoration. By walking directly on the earth, the afferent signals sent to the brain from the feet help to stimulate a sense of connectedness to nature. This restores psychological functions and allows us to better cope with things like stress [8]. Another proposed benefit of connecting with nature and the earth through our feet is the concept of earthing, the process by which delocalized electrons are free to flow up and through the human body providing a variety of benefits.
Going barefoot may reduce risk of injury in runners [9].
Sensory afferent signals enable the body to have optimal posture as well as enhanced proprioception [10]; having the awareness of where the body is in space. When going barefoot, there is an increase in sensory input as the feet aren’t cushioned by standard shoes.
The enhanced sensory signals received from the foot as well as the increase in muscle function and strength could result in better balance. This is subject to current research [11].
PROTOCOL
The authors own protocol is as follows. However, it is recommended that the protocol will differ depending on age, life experience, previous and/or current injuries, foot strength etc. so care must be taken to listen to your own body.
1) Implement strength and conditioning exercises to prepare the foot for barefoot/ minimal shoe walking
2) Gradually implement barefoot walking into your routine
3) Buy barefoot shoes and further decrease time spent in conventional footwear. This will take time and the transition between the two should be extremely gradual.
4) Start running in barefoot shoes on a variety of surfaces to reduce the risk of overuse injuries. Start with 30-60 seconds of slow jogging and increase. Listen to your body!
If any pain or discomfort arises, have some rest as the body will not be adapted to use outside of a modern-day shoe. Adaptation will occur gradually over time; it will take a long time, especially if you’ve been wearing shoes for decades!
If possible, walk and jog at the beach in the sand! This is a low impact surface that will work out those intrinsic muscles in the foot as well as leg muscles.
If wanting some extra tools, one may purchase foot spacers which artificially spread the toes or the purchase of toe socks; socks that separate the toes but does not change alignment. This may familiarize the toes to function independently and allow them to form a more appropriate alignment.
EXERCISES
If any pain or discomfort arises, have some rest as the body will not be adapted to use outside of a modern-day shoe. Adaptation will occur gradually over time; it will take a long time, especially if you’ve been wearing shoes for decades! Below are links to exercises.
WORDS OF CAUTION
Improper strength and conditioning as well as improper exercise implementation e.g. running for too long barefoot, may do more harm than good. The SAID principle must be applied! This posits that the body will adapt to specific demands placed on the body. If demands are appropriately testing the body, then the body will adapt, however if the demand is too great, the body will not be able to cope adaptively.
It will take a long time to fix – decades of shoe wearing, especially in the critical stages of foot development may result in a foot structure that cannot be changed, although, strengthening the foot may ameliorate the foots dysfunction at a minimum. Some researchers are recommending that kids were non-conventional shoes [12].
The use of toe spacers must be used cautiously. There is no scientific evidence that support their use; however, it is of the authors opinion that the evidence showing no benefit arises from the short duration of the study when compared to a lifelong time spent in shoes which compress the toes together. Furthermore, toes must be physiologically appropriately spread and not put the in any abnormal positions. Purchasing toe spacers that are to big for your feet may have this effect. The implementation of toe spacers must be done appropriately and not too quickly, like running in minimalist shoes. A few minutes a day, gradually increasing depending on the pain. Toe spacers may help the toes move further apart over time, allowing for a more natural alignment. The greater abduction of the big toe (hallux) may provide a greater weight bearing foundation, defusing the pressure over a larger area.
Some people may not experience any benefit going barefoot as they have no problems with conventional shoes.
FURTHER READING
REFERENCES
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