Shoes You Should Be Wearing
Our feet do a lot of work! Our feet carry our entire weight and are the shock absorbers of our bodies. They do an extraordinary job of keeping our bodyweight balanced and well-distributed.
The bio-mechanics of our feet include muscles connected by tendons running along our legs. These same muscles are also, through the spinal cord, connected to various organs in our body. Weakness in any area in the body can be linked to weakness in our feet, they are all connected.
From the day we start to walk, and even before, we are forced to wear “protection” on our feet. We have been told since we were little that wearing shoes “protects” our feet, but this is far from the truth.
Imagine having your right hand tightly casted for 10 hours a day. At night you take your hand out and move it but again the next day you put the cast back on and this continues for years! How strong do you think the muscles, tendons and ligaments around the joints of your hand would be?
This is what happens to our feet from the time we start to walk. Our feet were never made to be squeezed into shoes that most of the time does not allow for full range of motion.
25% of the bones that make up our body are in our feet. There are 26 bones, 33 joints, 19 muscles and hundreds of sensory receptors, tendons and ligaments in each foot.
We need to keep our feet stong by wearing the right type of shoes that allows freedom of our feet muscles to strengthen and function normally.
Here are some tips when buying shoes:
- Make sure there is no heel elevating at any part of your feet more than the rest, Vibram shoes are an example of good shoes. When wearing a heel your calves are always shorten and become tight.
- Buy shoes that bend, Merrell and Nike Free are both bendable shoes.
- Ensure your body is able to have freedom to move and aren’t too small for you.
Happy shoe shopping!
As a runner, someone who runs both with barefoot footware and without and also as a podiatrist I have to say you need to be careful with removing “normal” footware. It will take most people anywhere from 3 months to a year to be able to run for 20 minutes with barefoot footware with good form, as it takes your feet muscles and connective tissue (ligaments and tendons) that long to get strong enough. I encourage runners to try at the start, once per week running with no shoes, for maybe 3x 300 meters at a stride pace, then build up over 3,6 or 12 months to be able to run say 5 kms without shoes. It is worth it though. Our feet were designed to be shoeless, I run faster and with less injuries by running without shoes 3 times a week, but we need to let them adjust. Most shoes have up to 1 inch of heal on them (runners too), it can cause injuries by dropping them too quickly.
hope that helps, but great to get people thinking!
Great tip Andrew, thanks!
Andrew makes some good points, but may I make a personal point?
As a 55 year old woman, I switched to the Merrill shoes w/the Vibram soul for running last year. After approx three months of wearing them – running 15-20 miles per week – my 2nd metatarsal on my right foot broke.
That is when I did more research (a little late!) The statistics of runners over 35 having broken metatarsals from wearing these shoes are staggering! The theory is that us older folk have worn shoes with support for so many years that our muscles in our feet have weakened and are not strong enough to support the bones when required to do so with this type of shoe.
WARNING: Do your research BEFORE switching to these shoes – I loved the shoes, but the consequences have been severe! Almost a year later, I’m still dealing with feet problems and not able to run at this time.
Shelly
Thanks!! Now I have a post to show my husband when he insists on me wearing high heels every day 😀 Looove them but it’s exhausting!! hehe
We have a local business that claims to have healed many people of foot, knee, hip, and back troubles by getting them into the right sized shoes. They say that most people don’t get their feet measured (with a Brannock device) and very few shoe stores carry a full range of sizes. They are at http://thebootshack.com/ and have shoes and not just boots. I suggest googleing brannock and finding out how to measure your own feet, especially if you have trouble. Maybe you can get the right sized shoes at your local store.
One example they give is people with shoes too wide may have their legs angled out, putting a strain on their knees.
Another thing – you need 2 length measurements – heel to toes and heel to the ball of the foot – shoe size should be the larger. I know a man who got his toe bones shortened to cure hammertoes – I think longer shoes would have been a much better fix.
If my knees are bothering me, the pain goes away 30 minutes after changing to my barefoot shoes.
I wear Dansko or Earth shoes for work and still come home and put on either Vibram 5 fingers or Merrell barefoot gloves. I even purchased the Merrell Barefoot MaryJane style so I can wear them with pants to work on casual day. You have to work up to wearing them full time. I usually do not wear them multiple days in a row, even after 2 years.
I have the problem of over-pronating. From what I can tell I can’t wear the minimal shoes because it would cause more injury. I already have problems running somedays because of it. My knees and ankles will start hurting mostly at the beginning of the run. What can I do about that?
I would see an Active Release Therapist (ART) or a Muscle Activation Therapist (MAT). They will give you simple exercises with a band to help strenthen your feet. I have had this done and works sooooo well.
I like to run during the spring/summer time and cross train during the colder months. I had a trip to Florida during the winter time and decided to run 6 miles one day and 7 miles the next without warming up… Big mistake!! I hurt my knees pretty bad, my doctor told me I had tendiniteous, and I would have to wear a knee brace. I learned about Newton running shoes, and started using them, I run faster, more efficient, have more energy, and most importantly, the pain in my knees have diminished greatly!!! I recommend Newton Running shoes to EVERYONE.
Happy running!
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