Barefoot running

YassSpartan

I found this very short article online and wanted to share it with all of you.



There was a time not too long ago when you'd be crazy to jog through the city in bare feet. Well, you'd still be crazy, depending on the amount of broken glass in your path. But the notion of running barefoot even on hard surfaces isn't as absurd anymore. In fact, barefoot running might be better for your shins, knees, hips and back.

Studies are not conclusive, but more and more researchers are advocating for ditching the running shoe. At issue is that the running shoe, since its debut in the 1960s, has altered how the human body runs, forcing the runner to land heel to toe. In a natural barefoot stride, your foot lands on its ball and lateral ledge, spreading out the impact. Humans have run this way for several hundred thousand years, and pre-humans did so for likely a million years prior to this.

A study published in the journal Nature in 2010 demonstrated that running in running shoes heel-to-toe sends a shock up your legs that's virtually non-existent when running barefoot. The debate over this issue is fierce, though, as you might imagine it would be when it involves a billion-dollar industry.

YassSpartan

I haven't really testing my new vibram shoes, but I'm really looking forward to see if they really help me with my knees issue when running.

MFPfriend

A friend on mine was always running with shoes, had to stop because of some knee pain, and then decided to try barefoot running (he did it not because of the studies, but because he figured he escape paying $100+ for running shoes). He says he hasn't had any problems with running since, but that's just his story. I'll see what others say.

sarglava

I've tried running barefoot before (on a treadmill), and it was very uncomfortable. Maybe it's because my foot has been "trained" to run in a shoe, but honestly I didn't like it.

2bfitforever

Hmmm.... I have heard running barefoot is the best for your body so I will be interested to how you like them.

CarterGrt

We have a few guys in our running group that run in Vibrams. They get injured a TON more than everybody else. But, I will concede that the majority of this is probably training too hard too soon barefoot. I think you have to basically start back from scratch on your training when you go barefoot. You can't do anywhere near the milage or frequency that you have worked up to in a traditional shoe. If you try, I think the chances of injury are very high. After a long re-training, they might end up with benefits, but personally, I am not sold on them.

--Carter

Leannek74

I saw something about this regarding an ancient tribe in Mexico on 'Weird or What'. A member would run up to 450 km's in one day!!! They had studies showing how running barefoot is less taxing on the feet/legs/body and makes your body work more efficiently, with less injuries.
I love running out doors and unfortunately barefoot running is not feasible where I live. I have to run an a tread mill half the year because it's too cold to run outside (Some people manage to run outdoors here in the winter, that's not for me). So I tried running barefoot on my tread mill... good results except I still hate tread mill running!

Maybe someday I'll move to be near a beach.....

elmaly

The problem I see with barefoot running is that we have become tender-footed because we have been wearing shoes since birth. If we had always run around barefoot our feet would have spread and the skin would be much tougher.

Interested in what you think of your vibrams. People I know who have used them have given mixed reviews.

YassSpartan

Well, basically the natural physiology of running barefoot allows to absorb the impact of landing your whole body weight in a single point (your foot) and avoiding transmitting the shock thru the ankle, knee, hip and back. Just imagine how does it feel running into a wall, your body comes to a sudden stop and basically all your joints absorb that shock, and even though the area absorbing the impact is wider you still feel it. So the way the anatomy of the foot is designed with all the small bones in the "ball" area is to absorb and distribute that impact to avoid stressing bigger joints like the ankle, knee, hip and even your back.

dawnkitchen

Vibram Five Fingers, for sure! My boyfriend works at a family owned outdoor shop and they sell these like CRAZY and have heard really great reviews about them.

I don't know anything about training or the physical part of it - but it seems these are the hands down option to do barefoot running.

beckyhope

This is very interesting! My little brother has those barefoot shoes and he loves them. Makes me want to fork out the $100 and get some just to see if my knee stops hurting!

Swilson87

Be prepared for arch, and achilles issues. Good running shoes are designed to protect and cushion these areas. Be very careful of so called scientific studies. Are they peer reviewed? What was the goal of the researcher? Does the researcher stand to gain anything from the changing of your mind?

If your RUNNING shoes are hurting your feet, you have old or bad shoes. Taking them off will only exacerbate the problem.

YassSpartan

CarterGrt, I mentioned the vibrams not as part of the article I found. The vibram just offers a protection when running outdoors. Running with those shoes or barefoot is basically new to every adult, because we're not used to it anymore. And just like you said, it takes time to strengthen the muscles of the feet and legs, and to get used to run like that.

elmaly, that's right, our feet are tender and running barefoot outdoors will feel tough on our skin

lizdwolf

Read "Born to Run" by Christopher McDougal - it's an awesome read!!! He's a veteran journalist and runner who found himself with a story based on both. Definitely re-start to train your feet to run barefoot and enjoy. There's a doctor in Delaware looking for experienced barefoot runners for a study right now - she's one of many sources he weaves into "Born to Run".

YassSpartan

Be prepared for arch, and achilles issues. Good running shoes are designed to protect and cushion these areas. Be very careful of so called scientific studies. Are they peer reviewed? What was the goal of the researcher? Does the researcher stand to gain anything from the changing of your mind?

If your RUNNING shoes are hurting your feet, you have old or bad shoes. Taking them off will only exacerbate the problem.

Running shoes are designed to absorb the impact when you land on your heel, the article just talks about hour natural way of running. I don't really recall reading any article describing so many knee issues pre-running time and even in ancient times when sports were practiced. Just saying.
I'm not a scientist, or a specialist in the matter, but I work on the health field and what I explained about physiology in one of my replies here makes total sense.

misssuperstitious

You can retrain yourself to footfall on the ball of your foot instead of you heel while still wearing running shoes. I did this when I went from high school to college cross country. In high school we were coached to footfall heel to toe, but in college our couch wanted us all footfalling on the balls or our feet. It made a HUGE difference in speed and injuries for me. I got plantar fasciitis when I stopped running and gained weight. I've had it for 3 years now (it has improved greatly with weightloss and inserts, and taping) and running barefoot would be suicide for my feet.

lizdwolf

http://www.chrismcdougall.com/blog/

modernfemme

source of article? You know. giving credit where credit is due, etc.

Stooooo

If any of you are on Facebook look up Mike French. He just ran a Spartan 8 miler in his Vibrams. Also has run a personal marathon in his Vibrams. The man swears by them.

Swilson87

Be prepared for arch, and achilles issues. Good running shoes are designed to protect and cushion these areas. Be very careful of so called scientific studies. Are they peer reviewed? What was the goal of the researcher? Does the researcher stand to gain anything from the changing of your mind?

If your RUNNING shoes are hurting your feet, you have old or bad shoes. Taking them off will only exacerbate the problem.

Running shoes are designed to absorb the impact when you land on your heel, the article just talks about hour natural way of running. I don't really recall reading any article describing so many knee issues pre-running time and even in ancient times when sports were practiced. Just saying.
I'm not a scientist, or a specialist in the matter, but I work on the health field and what I explained about physiology in one of my replies here makes total sense.

I am all for trying new things trust me. My undergrad is in Exercise and Sport Science. I've spent many days in classrooms and labs discussing new ways to improve fitness. Proper ways to workout and reduce injuries, or the possibility there of. My statement about arch and achillies issues comes from personal experience. Running barefoot may be ok for very low impact short distances, but the arch of the foot is sure to be stressed during longer more strenuous bouts of exercise.
The shoe absorbing shock is a way to keep injury prone areas of the foot safe, or as safe as possible. When injury problems start to surface for runners, check mechanics. If you’re new to it, weight may be an issue. How many people here have complained of knee pain only to have it disappear as the weight disappears? Running barefoot may in fact be possible, but it's surely not for all.

taso42_DELETED

I am a barefoot running convert, although I have only done it on the treadmill so far. Furthest I've done is 6 miles. When I was using running shoes, I would get knee pain which led to injury, especially in my right knee. When I go barefoot I get almost no knee pain. That right knee sort of threatens to act up once in a while, but it hasn't gotten to the point where I'd called it "injured" again ever since. Now, part of this may be due to my running shoes not being quite right, which I don't think they are. I think the sort of key to the whole barefoot running thing is that it causes us to land on the fronts of our feet and sort of roll back toward the heel; as opposed to running shoes which are so padded that they cause us to land on our heels. Landing on the heel causes a sort of shockwave to go up the leg, whereas landing on the front of the foot and rolling distributes the force.

So it basically comes down to running technique. I think in the spring or summer, when I take this running business to the outdoors, I'm going to get fitted for new running shoes, and pay attention to my stride, making sure to land on my toes rather than heal, and I think all will be fine in terms of injury. And/Or I'll get the Vibram Five Fingers. Still haven't decided.

anubis609

Does barefoot on the elliptical count? Since I've been doing that, I've alleviated the "toe numbness" problem and actually feel like I perform better without shoes.

rybo

I am still in the process of "barefoot conversion". I bought a pair of vibrams last summer. I cannot emphasize how much I love them. I cannot wait until the weather warms enough for me to get back out there in them.

I didn't do it becuase of injury or anything else other than running barefoot makes more sense to me, than running in over protective shoes. I'm still not sold that it is the right thing for everyone to do, or that it will be a "cure all" for everyone's injuries. But I do think that for the people that it is right for, it is REALLY right.

And as hinted at before, but cannot be stated enough, ease into that style slowly.
Ease into this style slowly

jen0619

I really want vibrams and have wanted them for a while. I prefer to run barefoot shoes seem to slow me down. It feels like shoes make my feet heavy no matter how many different pairs of lightweight shoes I own!

NotAllWhoWanderAreLost

i am a SAHM and i very rarely wear shoes: just when out shoveling the snow (lol), mowing the lawn, hiking, shopping and things like that. I garden barefoot, do my around the house stuff barefoot and spend about 75-90% of my week shoe-less. I am a new runner (since October) but i was a walker before that and i've always worn well-fitting Saucony's when i've walked/ran. I am interested in getting Vibram 5 Fingers this spring because it fits in with my barefoot-thru-life philosophy But here is the interesting thing: i was looking at the tread wear on my older running shoes (the ones i've had the longest) and the wear pattern definitely shows the most wear at the balls of the feet, the outer edge (more so on my right foot) and towards toes rather than towards the heel. Do you think i am already running in more of a "barefoot fashion" as elluded to on my tread wear "evidence"? I run about 5 miles max at this point but am training to do a half marathon this year (hopefully in late April, but if not then, def. running one in late September).

Anyhoo, just curious to see what you think of me being a predominantly barefoot person, would i run 'barefoot' by nature of my normal habit anyways? Interesting!

(sorry this is disjointed, lol, getting attacked by 6 & 3 yr olds! LOL!)

rybo

i am a SAHM and i very rarely wear shoes: just when out shoveling the snow (lol), mowing the lawn, hiking, shopping and things like that. I garden barefoot, do my around the house stuff barefoot and spend about 75-90% of my week shoe-less. I am a new runner (since October) but i was a walker before that and i've always worn well-fitting Saucony's when i've walked/ran. I am interested in getting Vibram 5 Fingers this spring because it fits in with my barefoot-thru-life philosophy But here is the interesting thing: i was looking at the tread wear on my older running shoes (the ones i've had the longest) and the wear pattern definitely shows the most wear at the balls of the feet, the outer edge (more so on my right foot) and towards toes rather than towards the heel. Do you think i am already running in more of a "barefoot fashion" as elluded to on my tread wear "evidence"? I run about 5 miles max at this point but am training to do a half marathon this year (hopefully in late April, but if not then, def. running one in late September).

Anyhoo, just curious to see what you think of me being a predominantly barefoot person, would i run 'barefoot' by nature of my normal habit anyways? Interesting!

(sorry this is disjointed, lol, getting attacked by 6 & 3 yr olds! LOL!)

It appears you are more ready than most, but it never hurts to still ease into it slowly & build up & see how you feel.

Mrs_McFadden

I've heard about this, the books, the indigenous populations that run like this still and the Vibrams etc.
The word on the street I've heard from my brother who is a gym rat is that the Vibrams hurt a lot of his friends feet. Not that this is scientific in anyway mind you . I just wanted to know.
Right now I'm dealing with a torn ACL that happened in the midst of my glorious domination of the C25k second week on my treadmill. I love jogging and I'm so upset I might have to get surgery and definitely physical rehab. I've considered doing the barefoot thing on my treadmill..you all are going to LMAO at this, but my vanity prevents me from doing so. I like my pedicured feet lol! I do *not* want the callouses required to maintain my feet for running barefoot!
I wish I could have it both ways however .
I really want to try it out! But my OPI and I have been going out for a long time, I'm not ready to dump her :P

MystikTigerLady

My husband and I both have vibrum's. My husband just bought his second pair he loves them so much. He is much more athletic than I, so the up time to being able to run in them long distance without injury was less for him. I, being more slight, had to work up from scratch. I made it a half mile in them the first time and realized my ankles needed a lot more work. I took a break from running this winter, but before I stopped I could go a full mile. My husband runs considerably farther, 5-7 miles, with no problems. As a matter of fact, my husband told me the other night he saw vibrum's for kids and wondered if we should get them for our two rugrats.

runningneo122

Bump

CarterGrt

How do you barefoot converts feel about the Nike Free series? Do you think it makes sense to start with the 7.0, then go to the 5.0, and scale yourself down to a lower sole over time? Or, is it better to go cold-turkey, barefoot or Vibram and just tone it down and adapt?

--Carter

Pinkbella123

I was running from the beginning of my weight loss journey, not fun with the shin splints! However, for the past three weeks I have been jogging up to three days a week barefoot on the treadmill and have had no pain. I am all for the barefoot running!