“Barefoot Running” and foot injuries
29 April 2013
No Comment
I get asked about those shoes that look like gloves all the time. People bring me copies of those books about the mountain men of Chile running barefoot and get all philosophical about how our ancestors ancestors ran barefoot and it’s more natural and better for us and for the environment. I look outside at all the concrete and wonder if they’ve considered how hard the environment has become lately.
I’ve never personally been a fan of the “barefoot” running idea. I see a lot of people with a lot of very stiff feet and not enough arch support. And I’ve never seen anyone run in the Olympics in those things. I just think a good pair of running shoes is better for you. And now the evidence to support this is starting to come out.
A new study followed a group of experienced runners for 10 weeks. Half the group kept running in their normal shoes. The other half slowly started to introduce “barefoot running” in Vibram Five Fingers shoes. Just one mile in the first week, two miles in the second week, three in the third and so on (as per the guidelines on the company’s website). At 10 weeks they were given MRI’s.
Whilst there where no soft tissue changes eg Achilles Tendonitis, more than half the barefoot group had started to develop signs of bone injury. They were found to have varying levels of bone marrow edema, which means swelling in the bone, a sign of trauma. For some people this was only a minor level, but for others it was huge – two had even developed stress fractures. Almost all the runners had reduced their mileage. As the researcher suggested, this was “probably because their feet hurt”.
I’m not saying these shoes can’t work or that they don’t work. I treat people who swear by them and think they’re the greatest shoes in the world. But they’re clearly not for everyone and if you are planning to use them be very careful and introduce them gradually, paying attention to the warning signs of an injury.
