The Perfect $100 Foot Torture Device
I immediately went out for a short run in my spiffy new Vibram Barefoot Shoes. About one mile into it I could hardly even stand upright anymore I was in such excruciating pain.
It seemed I was right all along, but was I? I struggled to even wear them as everyday footwear despite the mountains of information on how healthy the barefoot shoes were.
Barefoot Shoes + Public Place = Instant Celebrity Status
I resorted to wearing the shoes for short everyday excursions less I waste the hundred dollars I spent on them and quickly discovered instant stardom. Every single person stopped me to ask what the heck was up with my wild barefoot shoes.
One day I literally couldn’t get out of the hardware store because people were fetching friends, calling family, and taking pictures of my feet. Being that is I’m an attention whore I was sold and gave the shoes a second shot.
Correction: [Pain = No Gain] or Rather [No Pain = Gain]
With time I built up enough courage to try running again. This time I was smarter about it and gradually built my tolerance to jogging without high tech cushioning and support systems found in most modern running shoes.
The secret was to listen to my body. If it hurt I would stop. I also built up so gradually literally jogging only a 1/4 mile in the beginning in the shoes so that I never even reached the point of pain.
Today, six months later, I’m running faster than ever and my feet couldn’t feel better with only one exception. I seem to experience a mild soreness in my left inner ankle.
I’ve tried icing, anti-inflamatories (including adding fish oil to my diet), stretching, massaging, strengthing my calves, and about everything under the sun but it wasn’t until a couple days ago I found a solution to this annoying problem.
Even “Healthy Footwear” Handicaps Your Foot
Shoes, including barefoot shoes, mask a majority of the sensory feedback from your feet to your brain. This handicaps your brain’s ability to calculate how you should step.
Put basically, wearing shoes is almost like trying to eat a three course meal after the dentist numbs your mouth up. You’re not entirely sure where the food is so you end up spilling, biting your tongue and a matter of other unpleasant things.
The same goes for the feet which loose a great deal of sensation with the ground when in shoes. This can result in the foot hitting the ground too hard because the brain doesn’t know exactly where it’s at or how hard it’s hitting.
Self Calibrating Barefoot Running Technique
I had read about running completely barefoot to avoid injury on another blog but was still skeptical of what it could do to help me. Yesterday I figured what the heck, my ankle difficulties weren’t getting any better on their own so I tried it out.
To my astonishment I came back with not even the slightest hint of ankle soreness! No matter how fast I pushed myself and even how hard a surface I was on while running barefoot I couldn’t get my ankle to feel any discomfort. It was truly an eye opening experience I think we all can benefit from 🙂
I recommend giving barefoot running and even walking a try from time to time. I think you too will be delightfully surprised.
Learn More About Your Feet
There’s actually a lot of uncommon secrets about your feet. Despite the media has plumbed barefoot footwear people still view their feet and footwear primarily as fashion devices. It’s also very fashionable to go barefoot according to many online experts.
However, the journey to healthier feet isn’t as simple as going barefoot or buying minimalist shoes. It’s riddled with risk and potential injury. I know I’ve been there an so have many of my friends. So I we put together a foot training program should you be interested in trying and or learning more about healthy feet.
You can check it out here, Fitlish Feet Training Program
I have been walking barefoot 30-40 minutes daily for the past month, and I also feel no pain whatsoever after my walks. Before I was walking using barefoot shoes (merrel & new balance) and I always developed some foot or back pain after walking. i now beleive that the reason for this is that barefoot/minimalist shoes do have some form of arch support which causes you to walk in an unnatural way. Do you know of any minimalist shoes that have absolutely no arch support? Thanks.
Both Merrell trail glove and New Balance Minimalist have no arch support. The upper wraps around the bottom side of the foot but there is no solid structure under the arch with those two shoes.
Arch support damages the arch in the foot. It put pushes apart the arch in the foot eventually leading to chronic inflammation. It also causes the feet to set incorrectly messing with the ankle and how your foot conforms with the ground.
Lower back pain is typically due to raised heel. The raised heel shifts your back out of alignment as your entire body has to adjust to to account for the slope your feet are on.
I hope that answers your question?