10/03/2024
Hello, it's been a while since Ive posted anything, so here I am again. Thank you for being here too.
I've been asked quite a bit recently about barefoot shoes , so here is a summary of my knowledge and experience and thoughts.
The short version is:
I really like them. I wear them a lot. I've been wearing them for years now. Probably about ten years at least.
AND
You do have to give it some thought, you can't just buy a pair - not even those cheap comfy looking ones for sale online these days - and wear them all the time from then on.
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The main thing that causes injuries and problems is stress on the body.
The main thing that causes stress on the body is the way we use it.
If we have optimal movement patterns this causes least stress obviously.
If we have got into bad habits for whatever reason we can either change our movement habits for the better, or we can look for ways to reduce the impact on our bodies.
Shoes that have cushioned soles, arch support, anti pronation technology, lessen the impact for sure.
But they also disguise the movement patterns that caused the stress in the first place (it could be said that anti-pronation technology is helping to correct a movement pattern, but what it's actually doing is making us ever more reliant on shoe technology).
If we don't consciously change our movement patterns, they will not get better on their own.
If we go barefoot or wear barefoot shoes we get feedback from the ground, our bodies soon tell us if our pattern of movement is stressful.
This opens a window of opportunity for us to begin to listen and have a conversation with our body.
Maybe one foot hurts but the other doesnt. What is the not-hurting side doing right?
We can focus on that and this gives the hurting side a way to adopt that better pattern.
If we have worn supportive cushioned shoes a lot, we have lost a lot of those neural pathways through lack of use.
We need to wake up those pathways again, rebuild the brain map, by walking barefoot on different surfaces, sand, pebbles, rocks...
We can go barefoot and/ or wear barefoot shoes, a little at first, a bit more, a bit more, listening carefully to our body about it, and rebuild the neural pathways so that we become ever more attuned to the feedback we get, and use that info to let go of unhelpful movement patterns (Feldenkrais technique is about this I think).
This will also rebuild the strength in all our foot muscles and in time mostly we won't need any cushioning etc in our shoes.
Our toes will also have the room to straighten naturally if they had become misaligned.
There might always be a case for cushioned shoes in certain circumstances because we can't totally undo a lifetime of wearing shoes, eg when we're walking or running longer than usual distances/multi day hikes or runs/carrying heavier than usual loads. Some of Altra's shoes have a bit more cushioning than others, worth looking into.
When we get tired but still have further to go, our movement patterns become less efficient, we may revert to old, less helpful patterns.
The more we have trained, the more resilience we have built, the better our endurance, but padded shoes, with arch support and anti pronation technology if needed, can be valuable at such times and help to prevent the injuries than can be caused by lapsing back to inefficient movement.
It definitely needs to be taken slowly in very small stages, building up the load we put on our feet while wearing barefoot shoes.
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There's also the calf muscles and Achilles Tendon to consider: barefoot shoes are "zero drop" meaning no heel raise whatsoever. Your calf muscles will have become shortened over time as an adaptation to wearing shoes with a heel raise, even a slight heel raise as in trainers and running shoes will have some effect.
So we need to take time for the calf muscle to adapt to wearing zero drop shoes, we do not want to be putting strain on the Achilles Tendon by trying to do too much too soon.
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Steven Sashen, the CEO of Xero Shoes, recommends this (for runners):
• Your first 'run' in barefoot shoes should be only 20 seconds long (yes, 20 SECONDS) on a smooth hard surface. This will give you the best feedback, without having any hidden hazhards.
• If you do not hurt anywhere 24 hours later, you can run again in them, this time for 30 seconds.
• Again, see how you are in 24 hours, and if all is well, run again, for 40 seconds.
• And so on ...
He cautions not to run further, at first, even if it feels good! The elation some people experience on first wearing these shoes (it feels like being a child again, playing out! Believe me 😁🤸♀️🏃♀️) can mask any other messages from the body.
• If you hurt anywhere, REST (a day or more) until you don't hurt, and then start again, with a shorter run than the one that hurt you, and focus on your running form, if only one foot (or leg) hurts, focus on what the not-hurting foot is doing and the hurt foot will catch on and adopt the better movement pattern ...
It is vitally important to run with short steps, feet landing as close as possible to directly under your centre of body mass.
This way, you naturally land on your forefoot or midfoot, and this is best for our natural shock absorption.
Heel striking on the other hand, which is the natural consequence of striding out ('over striding') has far greater shock impact on the body.
So, faster cadence and shorter steps is what we're looking for. This can be a big change for some people, for others not so big.
And Steven Sashen says there is no magic number, it's for the individual to figure out what works for them, and it will be different going up hill / down hill, fast / slow, accelerating / decelerating.
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The 24 hours between runs is important for two reasons:
For the brain to hear what the body says about the impact of that run, and
For building or rebuilding the neural pathways in the brain. This takes time, and happens during the Pause, when we are Not Doing.
It's one of my favourite sayings, "The pause is as important as the note".
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It's also important to rest well, to do things that engage the Parasympathetic Nervous System (the vagus nerve) such as slow breathing, slow restorative yoga, chanting, flotation tanks, slow restorative massage, myofascial unwinding...
The body restores and regenerates itself best when we are in the deeply relaxed state of Parasympathetic Nervous System activation (the vagus nerve is the main nerve of the parasympathetic system).
But anything new is perceived by the brain as a potential threat, and the Sympathetic Nervous System ('fight or flight or freeze') is activated. Trying to learn new patterns of movement is initially going to cause this to happen.
So we need to find ways to rest deeply afterwards.
And screen time does not activate the parasympathetic nervous system. So put your phone down after reading this ! 😊
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Definitely wearing them (or just going barefoot) around the house and garden first of all is where to start then introduce wearing them for very short walks or runs .... and ditto for when we're carrying heavy loads, such as a backpack.
I also think it's ideal to massage your feet regularly / have massage / or have other foot treatments to help this, wakening up the neural pathways and easing out muscles that either ache a bit from this unaccustomed use or have been tight and 'knotted' for years. You can't strengthen any muscle that is locked up, it needs unlocking first.
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We have our own inbuilt shock absorption when our neural pathways and our feet muscles are all working well, the foot arches work like springs, it's when we lose this from lack of use that we need more cushioning in our shoes.
In general.
But there is also the thing that as we age, our natural fat pads on the soles of our feet wear thin.
Like losing the tread on car tyres.
So maybe as we age we'll always need to wear cushioned soles or at least cushioned insoles. The main experts talking about barefoot shoes at the moment are a lot younger than me, so they don't seem to have started considering that fact yet 😂
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I think it's always got to be a compromise, what works best for a person.
Ideally, barefoot/ barefoot shoes a lot of the time (ONCE you've accustomed your body and brain map to it) to maintain strength in our feet and to keep our neural pathways in good shape - and save the cushions for the longer days on our feet... 😊
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Good brands to look at if you want to are
Altra,
Vibram Vivobarefoot,
Xero.
Yorshire Runner in Otley and Northern Runner in Newcastle stock a good range of Altra shoes and are helpful and friendly.
I haven't found Vivo or Xero in shops here. They are both from U.S. and I've bought online. They do offer a very good guide to choosing your size.
I prefer to shop local and Mountain Wild in Hebden Bridge used to sell Freet, another brand, also good.
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Just one more thing. All barefoot shoes have a wide toe box to allow your toes to spread and align nicely and move naturally, and so that the soles of your feet (the plantar fascia) are not scrunched up.
But not all barefoot shoes are for wide feet.
Altra use several different width lasts for their shoes and shoes built on their Original Last are the broadest fitting.
Below in the photos is a handy chart I once saw somewhere of the different widths of barefoot shoes from different brands.
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I am still working, part time now. I haven't got a lot of availability which is why I havent posted available appointments on here for a good while.
I'm prioritising existing massage clients to make sure I look after them first, but if you would like to enquire please send a text message (not a whatsapp message thanks, it won't reach me) to
07815 917746
You can also ring that number. I have it on silent when I'm working but I'll get back to you when I can.
I'm pretty much booked up until mid May .
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Thank you for reading. Hope you found something helpful.
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