The Barefoot Running Book - Jason Robillard [42]
However, in all my years as a podiatry student and podiatric surgical resident, my professors rarely, if ever, discussed any type of barefoot activity. Instead, they spent hundreds of hours teaching the importance of supportive footwear, arch supports, and the
Holy Grail of podiatric medicine, the foot orthotic. An orthotic is a custom-made arch support formed from a mold of a person’s foot intended to help realign their foot into a more optimal, correct position, and with some very rare exceptions, podiatrists believe most of their patients need them.
But research is starting to suggest that all this extra cushioning may be making it difficult for feet to stand on their own. So after nearly twenty years in practice, I began to question the prescribed doctrine: Do feet really need all this support?
What Do Scientists Say About Barefoot Running?
The scientific literature does not prove—at least not yet—that barefoot activity or barefoot running is better for you. But the preliminary findings, when taken together and compared with the detrimental effects of supportive shoes, trend toward the inevitable conclusion: barefoot is better.
Most compelling are epidemiological studies showing that populations in the world that have generally walked barefoot or worn only sandals suffer from significantly fewer foot problems and deformities. Essentially, the constant pressure of shoes on our feet and toes cause the bones, joints, and tissues to adapt to the shoe. Even with the widest of shoes, you will notice that the toe area often curves inward at the great toe. The effect of this inward curve makes the shoe’s toe area rounded and, perhaps, more stylish. But over time, the shoe’s pressure on the great toe will cause it to drift toward the smaller toes and a painful bunion deformity (a bump) on the inside of the foot may develop.
Biomechanical reports on supportive footwear reveal that it often takes over for most of the muscles in our feet, which weakens them and makes these muscles unnecessary. Shoe companies and arch support makers may frame this as a good thing: your muscles do not need to work as hard, if at all. However, next time you slip on supportive shoes, remind yourself of the old saying, “use it or lose it.” Your shoes are acting like tiny coffins for most of your feet muscles, causing them to weaken, and even atrophy. With regards to running, no solid proof shows that shoes prevent injuries, and according to some studies, the injury rate for shoe-wearing runners may be as high as 79 percent.
Lastly, when I looked at all the peer-reviewed journal articles in existence that compared barefoot and shoe-wearing running, I found that nearly all of them favored going bare. Although the scientific literature shows a correlation with running shoes to injury, I could not find one article on the detrimental effects of barefoot activity.
What Do Other Podiatrists Say About Barefoot Running?
In 2008, the American Podiatric Medical Association (APMA) issued the press release, “Podiatrists Urge Americans to Think Twice Before Going Barefoot.” In the release, Dr. Ross Taubman, president of the APMA, stated, “It’s always safer to put on some kind of protective footwear every time you step outside.”
Oddly, the release goes on to say children learning to walk should not wear protective footwear because the child’s foot needs to grow normally and develop its musculature and strength. One has to wonder, if the APMA believes shoes are problematic for muscle development in children, why wouldn’t shoes cause similar problems for adults? All muscles need exercise on a regular basis throughout our life—not just in childhood—so they stay healthy and strong. Shouldn’t we continue to exercise our foot muscles beyond childhood? The obvious answer is yes. Since the APMA recommends keeping shoes off children’s feet for muscle strength and development, then perhaps adults should do this too.
Recently, someone asked me what it would take for the medical community to endorse barefoot