Does barefoot running reduce injury?

I have been wearing Vibrams since late 2009. Before I began wearing them I was plagued with ankle and knee pains when I ran. Yes, there is a little bit of break in time. However, it took less than a month before I was wearing them for a 5k. I did have one set back but it was my own stupidity... I went running through some nature trails in the dusk with 2-3 inches of snow. I managed to misstep and with my heel I landed hard on a golf ball sized pine cone. I had to revert back to regular shoes for 2 months to allow the bone bruise to fully heal. When I was deployed late '10-early '11 I was training for a marathon and was running 35 - 40 miles a week.

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.

From what I understand, running surface makes a lot of difference. Aren't the minimalist shoes designed for grass/trails/etc., and not pavement/tracks/treadmills?

Bump

I'm considering Vibram Five Fingers so I'd be interested to hear others opinions.

MY hubby has a pair of them and loves them. he doesn't run in them though but had back surgery and walking around in them is easier on his back and legs. However we live near a Marine base and a lot of the guys seem to do P.T. in them which includes running and from those hubby talked to about them they loved them.

I've been wearing VFF's and retraining myself to walk naturally for the past year. I believe that our bodies are not meant to heel strike or throw our foot out in front of our body to walk. after a full year I fully endorse barefoot walking, running, living. you'd be surprised how well nature designed our very own shock absorbers in our feet. my flat feet now have arches. my back injuries, while still there, are distant memories without constant jolting of heel strikes. I'm not saying it's the cure all, but if you have the time and patience to relearn how to walk and run, I'd recommend at least giving the barefoot revolution a go

i love being barefoot. people think i am crazy because i do my workouts from home using dvds and i am barefoot the entire time. i actually feel weird if i wear shoes to do the workouts.

This has crossed my mind a few times recently. I have trouble with my right ankle since an injury about 4 years ago. Somedays it's fine, others I can barely put weight on it. Also healing from stress fractures in both tibias. I wondered if shoes were the culprit.

I wanted to reply for FYI of any curious person in the future:

I highly suggest a subtle "step-down" approach to change your running shoe. If you're used to a fully-padded cross-train type shoe, don't go straight to Vibrams. You're just asking for trouble. I did a slow transition over a year's time to a less supportive "minimal" shoe. Padded shoes will have a 10+mm drop. You should transition to something that has a circa 6-8mm drop, then to circa 4mm drop, then to 0/barefoot.

This is just my two cents as I'm not a foot doctor of any sort, but I am a pretty avid/active runner. I've seen many-a-friend go down with stress injuries and be out for months because of a shoe transition. Minimal is all the rage and I enjoy the lighter weight I have now, but it was definitely a process to get there.

this can be so true, 99% of these types of injuries are due to improper running form. slow transition is definately the way to go, and research on proper barefoot running form should be mandatory for the transition. gotta build that new muscle memory!!

Not sure if I can blame the barefoot running on this, but I experienced a horrible case of Plantar Fasciitis after experimenting with a month of slowly incorporating barefoot running into my routine. My PF, left as soon as I returned to my regular regime with my mizunos full time.
I'm not an "athlete", just an "exerciser" with some half marathons under my belt, I don't think my feet could accept this type of dramatic switch after living in supported shoes for 34 years....

I have a recurring knee inflammation that hasn't been diagnosed (because they have no idea what causes it, despite numerous exams and MRIs), but I used to have knee pain quite often with running, along with the swelling. Since I switched to minimalist running with Vibrams, I haven't had any more knee pain while running. I still have the inflammatory spells, but the pain has completely disappeared in the 4-5 months that I've been running minimalist. I've also completed several 5 and 10Ks along with a half-marathon in them, and have had no issues with pain or anything else.

Now, you will end up getting MORE injuries switching to barefoot, especially if you already have Achilles issues, if you suddenly switch to barefoot running. One of the things that landing with a more forefoot/midfoot strike will do is put more pressure on your Achilles and calf muscles, because it requires you to push off using those more. One of your problems may be that your Achilles and gastrocnemius aren't flexible enough to handle the added pressures. Try sitting on a chair, with your feet flat and your knees directly over your ankles, and push push your knees forward while trying to keep your heels on the ground. If you can't manage that, your Achilles is probably much too tight to try running minimalist running right away.

If you want to incorporate it into your running, I would start with a very, very short run, once or twice a week (maybe half a mile), with a slow, easy pace. Increase that by 5-10% per week, and be very, very mindful of your previous injuries, especially those Achilles. Also, if you can, incorporate some stretching or cross-training (like yoga) that would help stretch those muscles without doing it statically (just grabbing those muscles and pulling isn't a great idea, so getting them stretched while blood is flowing is best).

I personally love minimalist running, and I've had a great experience with it, but it's definitely something you want to go slowly into, especially with a lot of injuries prior.

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.

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/

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).

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

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?