Does barefoot running reduce injury?

kaotik26

I'm a cross country and track runner. I fractured my left tibia during xc and my right fibula during track due to not having enough support for my flat feet. I am not allowed to wear heels/flip flops/etc for very long and need custom orthopedic insoles to run. I've talked to several doctors about this and have gone through more than enough physical therapy. I have no hope to wear minimalist shoes without corrective surgery to my arches. All I can say is, talk to a doctor and consult a specialist before making the shift in case of problems. Not being able to run/walk and have crutches with a boot isn't fun.

There have actually been a lot of studies that found barefoot running can help fix flat feet. Google it, maybe it can actually help!

Physiotherapist here.

You can't "fix" flat feet. You can make tem stornger, better supported etc. but structure is base on bone, which we were born with and is not going to change.

Personally I wear a flatter shoe (zoots) and I do have a pair of five-fingers that I use for kicking around the house.
BUT
A shoe fix isn't going to magically correct a strength discrepancy or poor form.

To generalize, most of my runners have tight lateral quads and weak medial quads (FYI the quadricep muscle has 4 parts). This tends to cause medial (inside) knee stress, over pronation etc. Also, most of my patients with this issue "over stride" meaning that their foot contacts the ground too far ahead of their body.
Get your form analyzed by a professional, then decide if a new shoe will help you work with what you're doing right/wrong.

I didn't understand
half of what you wrote, so I'm not gonna argue, I'm just relaying some information I saw online. Do a google search, you'll see a bunch of results for barefoot running claiming to "fix" flat feet or raise arches. I don't know how it works or if there's any validity to it, just pointing it out.

Translation: People tend to have weaker muscles on the inside of their thighs and stronger, tighter muscles on the outside of the thighs causing pulling on the knee, which is a main cause of knee injuries; not their shoes. Also people tend to take too long of steps while they run, causing the feet to hit the ground wrong, thus stressing parts of the body that are not going to handle the stress of running as well. I would listen to a medical professional before I would believe a couple of articles on google, personally.

dominicsmith412

Not really recurring problem but I had plantar fasciitis before and I've worn a pair of Vibram Five Fingers. The problem has not totally resolved but it was a big help. The pain gradually subsided until it was tolerable to walk/ run. Vibram Five Fingers works wonder.

Here's a link in case you're interested with this shoes - http://barefootrunningshoes.org/vibram-fivefingers/

fingersmagoo

In my experience, it will cause injury if not done in stages. Start out slow and low mileage. Your calf muscles will light up! The most I would run in them was around 5 miles, but I have seen people doing very long runs with them.

For me, it got to a point that I was sore and had pains, so I switched to Newtons. So far, the Netwons have been great.

Paul

Roadie2000

Translation: People tend to have weaker muscles on the inside of their thighs and stronger, tighter muscles on the outside of the thighs causing pulling on the knee, which is a main cause of knee injuries; not their shoes. Also people tend to take too long of steps while they run, causing the feet to hit the ground wrong, thus stressing parts of the body that are not going to handle the stress of running as well. I would listen to a medical professional before I would believe a couple of articles on google, personally.

So you would listen to one person online that claims to be a medical professional over another person also online who also claims to be a medical professional? First of all, I never said I agreed with either side, I was just pointing it out in case anyone cared to do their own research.

Also, minimalist shoes have actually helped me with my stride by learning to take shorter strides and be lighter on my feet. So I think indirectly they can help a little bit (at the very least).

kaotik26

Translation: People tend to have weaker muscles on the inside of their thighs and stronger, tighter muscles on the outside of the thighs causing pulling on the knee, which is a main cause of knee injuries; not their shoes. Also people tend to take too long of steps while they run, causing the feet to hit the ground wrong, thus stressing parts of the body that are not going to handle the stress of running as well. I would listen to a medical professional before I would believe a couple of articles on google, personally.

So you would listen to one person online that claims to be a medical professional over another person also online who also claims to be a medical professional? First of all, I never said I agreed with either side, I was just pointing it out in case anyone cared to do their own research.

Also, minimalist shoes have actually helped me with my stride by learning to take shorter strides and be lighter on my feet. So I think indirectly they can help a little bit (at the very least).

I'm saying if you really want the right information ask a doctor.

thebigcb

Theres is no evidence

Personally I wear runners, but running barefoot isn;t an option where I live

Give it a go and see if it works

Get_Me_Fit1

My older sister tried running barefoot, and she got really bad shin pain on both legs the next 2 days. She barely could walk. So im never trying it!

Illona88

I once read a science article that said that running with shoes on changes the way you run.

If you run the natural way (i.e. barefoot) you land on your toes and it is less hard on your knees and hips.
If you run with shoes on you land on your heel, creating a far bigger shock for your knees and hips.

Maybe you could try and teach yourself to land on you toes even with shoes on and you would have the same effect?

MoveTheMountain

One more thing about naysayers.

There are a lot of vested interests that spread information like "barefooting hasn't been proven to be better." That's false. Studies show huge decreases in impact when running with barefoot technique.

The other side of this coin is there are exactly ZERO studies showing expensive running shoes PREVENT injuries. ZERO. NONE. NADA.

Cuts, glass, nails etc??? I cut my toe once barefoot running. I stopped for 30 seconds to make sure there was nothing in my toe and kept running. A mile later when I was home, the cut was healed. I couldn't find it. You're feet are pretty remarkable once you let them do the job they evolved to do.

Thanks for listening.

I would imagine the running surface is important to this discussion... Do folks run barefoot on pavement and cement? That seems like it would be h3ll on ankles/fee/knees/etc.