An article on running barefoot...

[conuly]

With, of course, the obligatory scary quote about "broken glass"....

Health Journal: Is barefoot better?

Tuesday, June 06, 2006
By Tara Parker-Pope, The Wall Street Journal

Runners and athletes are always searching for the perfect shoe to improve performance and reduce injury. But some say shoes are the problem, and the best solution may be training without them.

Some experts now believe that most athletic shoes, with their inflexible soles, structured sides and super-cushioned inserts keep feet so restricted that they may actually be making your feet lazy, weak and more prone to injury. As a result, barefoot training is gaining more attention among coaches, personal trainers and runners.

While exercising without shoes may sound painful, the idea is that your feet need a workout, too. Proponents believe running barefoot changes a runner's form and body mechanics to prevent some common athletic injuries.

Although a few coaches and marathon runners have preached the value of barefoot training, the method has received more attention lately because shoe giant Nike is promoting its Nike Free shoe, which it claims mimics the sensation of running barefoot. Popular training methods aimed at improving running form, including the Pose Method (www.posetech.com) and ChiRunning (www.chirunning.com), also are prompting runners to consider minimalist foot gear or none at all as a way to allow their natural body mechanics to take over.

It isn't just runners who are going barefoot. One new fitness trend, a dance-inspired workout called Balletone (www.balletone.com), places heavy emphasis on foot strengthening and flexibility, something that is essential to dancers. Boulder, Colo., fitness educator Shannon Griffiths-Fable says her chiropractor encouraged her to try barefoot training, and she has also seen a difference in clients who take part in Balletone classes. "I've noticed just how fatigued people's feet get," she says. "They haven't used their feet and they don't know how to support themselves while exercising."

But barefoot training remains controversial. Many podiatrists cringe at the notion of unshod feet pounding the pavement, where the risks include cuts, bruises and unsanitary conditions. "If we want to mimic barefoot running, shoes should come with broken glass and twigs," says Stephen M. Pribut, a Washington, D.C., podiatrist and president of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine. "The emphasis should be on getting the right shoe for your foot."

While doctors also worry barefoot running can lead to injuries, proponents say barefoot training helps correct form and reduces foot, shin and muscle injuries.

Someone considering barefoot training should be careful. Doctors strongly discourage it for patients with diabetes, because a foot wound can lead to serious complications. Athletes with foot pain or injuries should consult with a sports-medicine expert, trainer or physical therapist before shedding their shoes. Even proponents of barefoot training say you should start slowly. Runners can start on grass, a clean sidewalk or a rubberized track. Be careful not to overdo it and give feet and muscles time to adapt. If you aren't willing to give up shoes while running on streets and trails, you might consider switching to a more flexible shoe or one with less padding if you like the way barefoot training feels. Yoga, pilates or group fitness classes that allow you to exercise while barefoot are also options.

Advocates of barefoot training swear by it, claiming that ditching their shoes has improved the running experience and solved injury problems. Four months ago, 29-year-old Salt Lake City runner Brett Williams was on the verge of buying the Nike Airmax 360, a $160 shoe. In researching the shoe, he stumbled across www.runningbarefoot.org, which has become the Web-based bible for barefoot runners. "I decided I'd had enough and went barefoot," says Mr. Williams, who on Saturday ran the Salt Lake City marathon, his first marathon, while barefoot. Mr. Williams says he enjoys running more now, and suffered only a minor scrape during the race that was less painful than the blisters that often develop on the feet of shod runners. "Your connection with the ground beneath your feet is absolutely lost with shoes on," says Mr. Williams. "I am utterly convinced your feet don't need support or cushioning. If they do it's because you're not running correctly."

There isn't a lot of scientific study on barefoot training. Research has shown that wearing shoes to exercise takes more energy, and that barefoot runners use about 4 percent less oxygen than shod runners. Other studies suggest barefoot athletes naturally compensate for the lack of cushioning and land more softly than runners in shoes, putting less shock and strain on the rest of the body. Barefoot runners also tend to land in the middle of their foot, which can improve running form and reduce injury.

One series of studies from Canadian researchers concluded that heavily cushioned shoes were more likely to cause injury than simpler shoes. They also concluded that more expensive athletic shoes accounted for twice as many injuries as cheaper shoes. The data aren't conclusive. It may be that buyers of expensive shoes are more injury prone or more active, and therefore more likely to sustain injuries. A summary of the data on barefoot training can be found at www.sportsci.org/jour/0103/mw.htm.

Dr. Pribut says he would like patients to seek out more appropriate athletic shoes, and gives advice on how to do this at www.drpribut.com/sports/spshoe.html. He notes that some athletes who go barefoot or give up structured shoes risk injuring themselves further.

Although barefoot runners say their feet become conditioned to running on pavement, some are choosing minimalist footwear to protect the feet without impeding the barefoot experience. A quirky foot-glove called the Vibram FiveFingers (www.vibramfivefingers.com) developed to keep sailors from slipping on their boats is one option. A toe-less nylon band used by dancers (www.dancepaws.com) also helps protect feet of barefoot trainers without the structure of a shoe.

I'd like to propose an experiment of sorts. A survey, rather. I will go out every day and write down any instance of "broken glass" on the pavement, for a week, including quantity, visibility, and odds of cutting (if it's flat on the ground, it probably won't cut, if it's sticking up, it probably will). I'll also make a short list of places I've been that were glass-free.

If I can get some other people to do the same, I might be able to find the place where glass grows on the ground to accost hapless walkers. Who's with me?

Comments

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

I really prefer barefootness, although at this point I'm having weird pain problems resulting from my feet hitting a cold floor, so I've been wearing shoes more often. (That and my building has a shoe rule.)

I have often been told about the "broken glass" thing when outside barefoot. I have never cut my foot deeply, or even to my remembrance shallowly, on anything in my entire life, a good chunk of which has been spent barefoot. You'd think I would have by now, the way people carry on about it.

[conuly]

In addition to glass, growing up, the neighbors kept telling me I'd step on a nail, get tetanus, and die.

Then they just... stopped.

I think they just got tired of being wrong.

[malantha.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever cut my foot, either. I have stepped on a nail, twice, but on both occasions I was wearing shoes (which were punctured by the nail anyway) and I was walking on a pile of wood.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Funnily enough, thanks to your continuous assertation that there's never glass on the ground, I have got into the habit of counting the incidence of patches of glass I see. I routinely get half a dozen patches, or even ten or more, in a short walk. Of course, the fact that they're often from phone boxes (thus are beads of glass covering the pavement side to side for a couple of metres) makes them very obvious to see, but difficult to avoid.

[conuly]

Rarely. I say rarely, not never.

Maybe street cleaning is better here?

[prezzey.livejournal.com]

Here, it's not the glass that is a problem. It's the dog poop. >>_<<

I play DDR barefoot, though it is arguably less natural a movement than running ;]

[conuly]

Which most people try not to step in shod as well, though, yes - ew!

[velasco.livejournal.com]

I've only ever cut my foot on a piece of glass once, while swimming. Which, as far as I know, is typically done barefoot and those "YOU MUST WEAR SHOES ALWAYS" people don't seem to care about anyway. But never running on the sidewalk, which I prefer to do barefoot. It wasn't until I had to wear enclosed (steel-toe) shoes for my job that I really started to have trouble with my feet.

[peebs1701.livejournal.com]

Once I stepped on a bee. :( The thing was still alive with its stinger stuck in my foot, wiggling around. It hurt a ton and I cried until my grandpa came out and took the bee out of my foot then carried me inside and got ice for the sting. I know it's not likely to happen again, but I still wore shoes outside pretty much from then on. No glass though.

I really do like the idea of going barefoot, and I'd encourage Kaitlin to run barefoot on the grass at any opportunity, but childhood traumas do have a way of staying with us.

[conuly]

Yeah, that sounds pretty traumatizing. You oould try convincing yourself that your kid has a better chance of being stung on her arms or her other exposed skin, but that might backfire :)

[sayga.livejournal.com]

i don't see glass or nails here very often, but the pavement causes severe burns in the summer and there are cactus everywhere. so even in the winter, with stray cactus bits all over the place, it's kind of scary. they're harder to see than glass. however, i'm sure my feet would eventually get mostly accustomed to the smaller bits of cactus if i were to walk barefoot more.

[conuly]

They actually would. We used to have a lot of cactus in my parents' room. And I'd use their futon to practice my acrobatics. You can picture the ow-age.

But you get used to it.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

See, I've been going barefoot more, and of course, now there is gravel everywhere on the sidewalks. Not in a gravel pit, and the only "gravil areas" or in the two playgrounds one each end of my block, which I live smack dab in the middle of. And yet, gravil, EVERYWHERE. I hate it. And it hurts. And I still go barefoot. :-p

[conuly]

Feels good on the feet in the long run, doesn't it? *wiggles toes*

[yonjuunana.livejournal.com]

I actually am rather wary about walking barefoot because I've cut my feet on glass and rocks several times, and once got a tiny piece of glass stuck in my foot. It might just be because I hardly ever go barefoot and therefore don't have callused feet (I have to wear inserts in my shoes to walk comfortably), but the few times I have gone barefoot I've gotten hurt. It surprises me to see people who like going barefoot because through my experiences I think of it as some dangerous thing. Maybe I just have bad luck with it.

[conuly]

Sounds like. Moreover, it sounds like your feet could use some free time. It's better, though, to start off going barefoot inside the house or on the park, in sand, that sort of thing.

[zathras26.livejournal.com]

I was born and raised in Hawaii, and a lot of people there go around barefoot all the time. (Not in business environments or anything like that, but in casual environments and so on.) Going barefoot is especially common among schoolchildren. I went barefoot for quite a few years before I started wearing rubber slippers instead.

Foot injuries are rare, but they do happen. During the course of the few years or so that I went barefoot, I remember stepping on sharp rocks or the like a few times (not many) and more or less going "Yow!" but otherwise being unharmed. I remember only one occasion where I was actually injured, which was when I was running for a bus (and not paying any attention to the ground) and stepped on a piece of broken glass. I bled profusely. Fortunately, other people at the bus stop were sympathetic and helped me out. Some gave me tissues to clean up, and one guy gave me one of his old gym socks to bind my foot, even apologizing for the fact that it was stinky. :-) Once in a great while, my faith in humanity is restored.

[noodles-morgyn.livejournal.com]

Running for a bus was the only time I've ever had glass go through my foot as well.

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

I love going barefoot when I can. And, gasp, we often have barefoot people at the office when there aren't clients around. I went barefoot a lot as a child and as such I can't wear most womens shoes XD

[rantinan.livejournal.com]

I dont barefoot much, even arorund hte house. I hae insanely flat feet, standing on them for any time at all without my arch supports is pritty painfull.

[ser-kai.livejournal.com]

I love to be barefoot and am when not doing any serious walking. If I didn't have a talipes foot, I would probably walk barefoot most of the time. When I was always barefoot before I found I had to wear splints, I was always picking glass out of my feet. I had to check my feet every couple of days. I think that might be more because of the lack of feeling I have in my feet due to nerves in my back damage, though, coupled with a lot of barefoot dancing at clubs.

I Actually Run Barefoot

[(Anonymous)]

Hey,
I have been running barefoot for a while now... It really is the only way to go. It has virtually cured my knee injury and been quite exhilarating!

Thanks,
-Sean
____________________________________
www.BarefootGuy.Blogspot.com

[wakasplat.livejournal.com]

I really prefer barefootness, although at this point I'm having weird pain problems resulting from my feet hitting a cold floor, so I've been wearing shoes more often. (That and my building has a shoe rule.)

I have often been told about the "broken glass" thing when outside barefoot. I have never cut my foot deeply, or even to my remembrance shallowly, on anything in my entire life, a good chunk of which has been spent barefoot. You'd think I would have by now, the way people carry on about it.

[conuly]

In addition to glass, growing up, the neighbors kept telling me I'd step on a nail, get tetanus, and die.

Then they just... stopped.

I think they just got tired of being wrong.

[malantha.livejournal.com]

I don't think I've ever cut my foot, either. I have stepped on a nail, twice, but on both occasions I was wearing shoes (which were punctured by the nail anyway) and I was walking on a pile of wood.

[eofs.livejournal.com]

Funnily enough, thanks to your continuous assertation that there's never glass on the ground, I have got into the habit of counting the incidence of patches of glass I see. I routinely get half a dozen patches, or even ten or more, in a short walk. Of course, the fact that they're often from phone boxes (thus are beads of glass covering the pavement side to side for a couple of metres) makes them very obvious to see, but difficult to avoid.

[conuly]

Rarely. I say rarely, not never.

Maybe street cleaning is better here?

[prezzey.livejournal.com]

Here, it's not the glass that is a problem. It's the dog poop. >>_<<

I play DDR barefoot, though it is arguably less natural a movement than running ;]

[conuly]

Which most people try not to step in shod as well, though, yes - ew!

[velasco.livejournal.com]

I've only ever cut my foot on a piece of glass once, while swimming. Which, as far as I know, is typically done barefoot and those "YOU MUST WEAR SHOES ALWAYS" people don't seem to care about anyway. But never running on the sidewalk, which I prefer to do barefoot. It wasn't until I had to wear enclosed (steel-toe) shoes for my job that I really started to have trouble with my feet.

[peebs1701.livejournal.com]

Once I stepped on a bee. :( The thing was still alive with its stinger stuck in my foot, wiggling around. It hurt a ton and I cried until my grandpa came out and took the bee out of my foot then carried me inside and got ice for the sting. I know it's not likely to happen again, but I still wore shoes outside pretty much from then on. No glass though.

I really do like the idea of going barefoot, and I'd encourage Kaitlin to run barefoot on the grass at any opportunity, but childhood traumas do have a way of staying with us.

[conuly]

Yeah, that sounds pretty traumatizing. You oould try convincing yourself that your kid has a better chance of being stung on her arms or her other exposed skin, but that might backfire :)

[sayga.livejournal.com]

i don't see glass or nails here very often, but the pavement causes severe burns in the summer and there are cactus everywhere. so even in the winter, with stray cactus bits all over the place, it's kind of scary. they're harder to see than glass. however, i'm sure my feet would eventually get mostly accustomed to the smaller bits of cactus if i were to walk barefoot more.

[conuly]

They actually would. We used to have a lot of cactus in my parents' room. And I'd use their futon to practice my acrobatics. You can picture the ow-age.

But you get used to it.

[lizziey.livejournal.com]

See, I've been going barefoot more, and of course, now there is gravel everywhere on the sidewalks. Not in a gravel pit, and the only "gravil areas" or in the two playgrounds one each end of my block, which I live smack dab in the middle of. And yet, gravil, EVERYWHERE. I hate it. And it hurts. And I still go barefoot. :-p

[conuly]

Feels good on the feet in the long run, doesn't it? *wiggles toes*

[yonjuunana.livejournal.com]

I actually am rather wary about walking barefoot because I've cut my feet on glass and rocks several times, and once got a tiny piece of glass stuck in my foot. It might just be because I hardly ever go barefoot and therefore don't have callused feet (I have to wear inserts in my shoes to walk comfortably), but the few times I have gone barefoot I've gotten hurt. It surprises me to see people who like going barefoot because through my experiences I think of it as some dangerous thing. Maybe I just have bad luck with it.

[conuly]

Sounds like. Moreover, it sounds like your feet could use some free time. It's better, though, to start off going barefoot inside the house or on the park, in sand, that sort of thing.

[zathras26.livejournal.com]

I was born and raised in Hawaii, and a lot of people there go around barefoot all the time. (Not in business environments or anything like that, but in casual environments and so on.) Going barefoot is especially common among schoolchildren. I went barefoot for quite a few years before I started wearing rubber slippers instead.

Foot injuries are rare, but they do happen. During the course of the few years or so that I went barefoot, I remember stepping on sharp rocks or the like a few times (not many) and more or less going "Yow!" but otherwise being unharmed. I remember only one occasion where I was actually injured, which was when I was running for a bus (and not paying any attention to the ground) and stepped on a piece of broken glass. I bled profusely. Fortunately, other people at the bus stop were sympathetic and helped me out. Some gave me tissues to clean up, and one guy gave me one of his old gym socks to bind my foot, even apologizing for the fact that it was stinky. :-) Once in a great while, my faith in humanity is restored.

[noodles-morgyn.livejournal.com]

Running for a bus was the only time I've ever had glass go through my foot as well.

[amarafox.livejournal.com]

I love going barefoot when I can. And, gasp, we often have barefoot people at the office when there aren't clients around. I went barefoot a lot as a child and as such I can't wear most womens shoes XD