Shoes alter how we move. As soon as you put toddlers in cute little loafers, their walking changes: they take longer steps and land with more force on their heels. In the January 2010 issue of the journal Nature, Harvard scientists reported that urban schoolchildren in Kenya who wore shoes ran differently than unshod rural youngsters. Most of the urban children struck the ground with their heels, causing impact peaks, or shock waves, to travel up their legs. The barefoot runners landed lightly near the front of their feet.
A compelling finding, sure, but practically useless. Unless you were raised in the bush, you grew up wearing shoes, and as repeated biomechanical studies show, our bodies cling stubbornly to what they know. When researchers from the University of Wisconsin La Crosse outfitted recreational runners with barefoot-style running shoes, about half of the runners continued to strike the ground with their heels, just as they had in their old shoes. But if you hit with your heels and no longer have cushioning to dissipate the force, you amplify the pounding instead of reducing it. “It’s tough to relearn to run,” the scientists cautioned in their report.
Meanwhile, landing near the front of your foot, as adept barefoot runners do, can be beneficial but is no guarantee against injury. Biomechanics research shows that forefoot striking sends shock waves up your leg, too, but in a different pattern than when you heel-strike. These forces move mostly through the leg’s soft tissues instead of the bone, meaning less risk of a stress fracture—but more chance of an Achilles injury. In other words, your body takes a pounding from running, barefoot or not.
Get over it: The truth is, going barefoot can be good for your body. It all depends on your susceptibility to specific injuries and how you make the transition. If you’re ready to give it a try, experts agree you should start slowly. “Go for a typical run,” says Stuart Warden, an assistant professor at Indiana University’s School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences. “Then take off your shoes for the last quarter of a mile.” Gradually increase the barefoot distance by a quarter-mile at the end of each run. And, above all, concentrate on form: land lightly, don’t overstride, and try not to hit the ground with your heel.
The biggest mistake barefoot newbies make is overstriding. Adopt quicker movements that cover less distance. If you’re on the fence about whether barefoot is right for you, use the following chart as your guide.
Injury: Sore knees
Switch: Worth a try. Barefoot running can lessen knee pain.
Injury: Achilles tendon problems
Switch: Probably not. Striking your forefoot increases stress on the Achilles.
Injury: Heel pain or plantar fasciitis
Switch: No. Without perfect form, you'll be pounding that sore heel without any padding.
Injury: Sprained ankle
Switch: Could be beneficial after the ankle heals. Going shoeless can improve the body's pro-prioception, or spatial awareness, reducing risk of another sprain.
Comments
Buy a metronome. Figure out how many strides you do per minute. Over a month or two notch it up every week to 180. But I have absolutely no credentials. I just watched the "evolution running: run faster with fewer injuries" so idunno, whatevah.
Flag ThisI can tell you that by switching to minimalist running shoes, I got rid of my plantar fasciitis, threw out my orthotics, and have no lower back pains after each run. After 25+ years of heel striking and cushioned running shoes, it took about 9 months to transition to midfoot/forefoot striking running form, minimal shoes, and lots of barefoot exercises. I run barefoot for about 3 miles one day a week. The rest of my runs are on asphalt and trails in barefoot-style running shoes or minimal shoes. http://minimalistrunningshoes.org/the-minimalist-runner Now I can run 5 to 6 days a week injury-free. The best is yet to come. Get the facts here: http://naturalrunningcenter.com/ Take it slowly and transition safely. Run injury-free. Enjoy and good luck!
Flag ThisI had achilles tendonitis. It has gotten progressively better after I switched to minimalist shoes. I think by heel striking I was hyperextending the achilles. I changed my running style to land on my mid-foot (took a while to transition).
Flag ThisI couldn't run 2 miles in shoes before my knees started hurting. Lost the shoes and went barefoot 4 years ago and now I have no problem running a half marathon on the street in my vibrams on trails barefoot. A magazine article doesn't trump natural evolution. We ran barefoot for thousands of years. Shoes are the fad.
Flag ThisSince switching to minimalist shoes this is the first time in my life that i'm running without injuries. I took a solid 3 months to transition from running shoes. In addition I was seeing a Rolfer to help with old nagging injuries. Its all been worth it.
Flag ThisAppropriate running form is achievable regardless of whether you are wearing shoes or not. As a sports medicine professional we do not see less injuries due to barefoot running, just different injuries.
Flag ThisRun and you'll only die tired...
Flag ThisI think the key here is that you cannot switch to minimalist footgear without RADICALLY altering your stride. I recently made the switch and have developed for myself three variations on a theme, stride-wise. Uphill I am almost completely on my toes, and I am finding hills much easier. On the flats, I land midfoot and am finding that with shorter strides, my calf muscles are adding explosiveness (if one can use that term without sounding ridiculous) to each stride, and downhills I am trying to run as fast as I can in a what is, for me anyway, more of a controlled fall - long, fast strides, landing on my toes/midfoot and kicking off hard. I shaved 15 seconds off my mile pace over my usual 4-mile loop in just over a week of running on the Vibram 5Fingers. My suggestion is to turn off the iPod, and really concentrate on stride and foot placement while you are making the transition. My calves are getting worked like they never did before, and I think that has a lot to do with the added speed.
Flag ThisShoes cause people to run improperly. Study shows that people running improperly while barefoot is bad. How exactly does this lead to the conclusion that running barefoot is bad. Shouldn't the conclusion be that running improperly is bad?
Flag ThisI was recently at a weekend long endurance seminar where we were taught Pose running. Pretty much everyone at the seminar had on minimalist shoes and prided themselves with not being heel strikers. Of the 40 people in the room that did not think they dorsiflexed or heel struck, slow motion video revealed that nearly all of us were dorsiflexing and heel striking. Changing shoes won't naturally fix anything. We were taught to pull with out hamstring, fall forward, and land on the mid-foot. If you are pushing off with your calf or are getting sore calf's then you are over utilizing the small calf muscle group and are prone to injury. The calf is better at cushioning the fall from a mid-foot strike than propelling the body forward. As for going barefoot, having a minimalistic shoe is great but barefoot for the majority of your running is not a good idea. Humans have been wearing shoes for 40,000 years and have adapted to havimg covered feet. Granted, we had leather soles rather than padded foam and rubber and the foot worked naturally as it does with minimalist shoes. Also, for those that want to run barefoot, make sure you pick a suitable environment like the beach of grassy field. Our hunter-gatherer ancestors did not have to worry about hidden nails and broken glass.
Flag ThisI think running barefoot in the city is bad. Step on a nail, needle, vomit, etcc. Not healthy for anyone. Also tough to run without shoes in the winter in the snow unless you have hobbit feet. I run and play basketball and hike 14ers. So I will have to stick with shoes.
Flag ThisMaybe we should just agree that running on needles and vomit is bad. I ran barefoot all summer & I didn't run on any of that stuff. When I see stuff that I don't want to run on, I step around or over it. It's really quite simple. Running barefoot also fixed my plantar fasciitis and nagging knee & ankle pain. I also just set a new personal PR in the last race I ran. I don't know if "myth" is the right word here. It was certainly better for me.
Flag ThisTwo years ago, I started training myself to forefoot strike. I still wear cushioned shoes. Even if you run with a barefoot style, shoes are more comfortable and reduce the risk of injury. Cushioned shoes are forgiving of mistakes, but as long as you're not, you can maintain a good natural stride regardless of what's on your feet. Do drills. Record videos of your stride. Focus on form on every stride until it becomes second nature. Stop caring about your times during the entire re-learning process. You will temporarily get slower. Deal with it. Expect it to take at least a full year to get meaningful change. After that, if you want to use ultralight minimalist shoes, fine, but don't think putting vibrams or inov-8s on is an instant form fix.
Flag ThisThe jury is out on barefoot running for me. While I did relieve the knee pain after switching to five finger shoes, I also developed a stress fracture in the front part of my foot within a month. Interestingly, I also developed an intense pain behind the left knee which only got better when I switched to traditional running shoes. For me, barefoot running will only be done in the beach for now.
Flag ThisThe jury is out on barefoot running for me. While I did relieve the knee pain after switching to five finger shoes, I also developed a stress fracture in the front part of my foot within a month. Interestingly, I also developed an intense pain behind the left knee which only got better when I switched to traditional running shoes. For me, barefoot running will only be done in the beach for now.
Flag ThisPounding heel??? I think you've misunderstood the whole barefoot thing.
Flag ThisLearn Pose running. Running is a skill, like hitting a golf ball 250 years or throwing a perfect spiral 45 years down the field. You need to retrain your muscles and your mind to move in the appropriate patterns, shod or unshod. Check out http://www.barefootbenny.com/running.html for more.
Flag ThisMyth? Your own 'myth' was debunked by your own article.
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