Barefoot shoes - walking, running, everyday
There is a new trend on social media (specifically TikTok) about barefoot shoes. There is also a lot of truth to what is being said about the benefits of switching to these types of shoes; for example: it allows the toes to spread out as they naturally want to, reduces blisters, can bypass the “breaking in” period, can ultimately allow you to increase strength in your foot improving systems in your knee/back, etc.
Now, what is the catch?
Well, we have had a trend like this in the past…
AND
It crashed & burned.
Because in our society of instant gratification we wish for the benefits to occur RIGHT NOW. Right?
Let’s take a moment and think about how long we have been wearing the types of shoes we currently wear. 10 years? 20? 50?
The most common shoe we wear squishes the toes into a point. This style initially was to show status and money…. also a lot of foot pain. But that is neither here nor there.
When our toes are squished into this posture it “turns off” the muscles in our arch — there are FOUR layers of muscles here. These muscles are important for maintaining the arch as well as the entire foundation of our bodies when we are standing, walking, running, jumping, etc. If these muscles are “turned off” then the body does what it does best: compensate.
This typically looks like rolling the foot toward the ground more (i.e. “flat feet”), or rolling away further (i.e. “high arch). These terms have become personality identifiers especially when starting a new activity or working with a new clinician, etc.
Ultimately, these descriptions of how your feet are just describe your body’s compensation for poor use of your feet. Kind of…
I say “kind of” because improving the function, posture, and strength of your foot is NOT necessarily going to improve the way your foot sits on the floor. What it does do is improve HOW your foot WORKS and ultimately improving A LOT of symptoms.
Personally, I made the switch to barefoot shoes (Xero) 2 years ago. I use these shoes for EVERYTHING. I also spent weeks preparing my feet and easing into using them. I now have a whole routine to care for my feet especially when increasing milage in preparation for a half marathon. Book a rehab coaching appointment to dig into how you can do this too! 🫶🏼
