I'll be the first to admit that for a long time I made fun of all those silly toe shoes and similar minimalist running shoes, but now a few years later, I am glad I have made the change. Our feet have evolved for thousands of years to be efficient at moving and stabilizing our bodies. It has really only been in the last 100 or so years that we decided we could bypass evolution and create shoes that perform better than our feet. While there are some benefits of shoes over just running around, the fact remains that most modern shoes act like a cast on our feet, they limit the movement and function of the multitude of muscles, ligaments, and bones within the feet. In the last 5 years we have seen an influx of minimalist running shoes, the most notorious of these being the Vibram Five Fingers. While many have criticized and even sued such companies for false advertising, I believe the core of what these companies are doing will benefit the health & fitness industry as a whole in the coming years. Allowing our feet to move and be as natural as possible promotes better bio-mechanical movement patterns resulting in the alleviation of many health issues.
How are Traditional Shoes Holding us Back?
I have broken down the problems I see with modern footwear into 4 categories which I will discuss in more detail.
1.Elevated Heels:
Let me emphasize that I am not just talking about women's high heels (which are an extreme example of this), but almost all running shoes and daily use shoes. Take your favorite pair of running shoes and measure the thickness of the sole on the heel compared to the thickness near the toes. In nearly every case you will see a significant decrease from the heel to the toe. In shoe lingo this is called "drop." In many new minimalist running shoes you will see things like "4mm drop" or "zero-drop." These are the actual amount of transition from the heel to the toe. A zero-drop shoe will therefore be completely flat...exactly like you foot.
Problems: Shortened Achilles, Lordosis, Hip Alignment, Gait Pattern Changes
- Walking or sitting in this position with an elevated heel trains the Achilles tendon or heel cord to become short and tight. This tightness of the lower leg along with the improper placement of the hips forces your butt to stick out, which then causes the lower back to over-arch trying to compensate. Basically the elevated heel even if only very slightly forces a compensation throughout the entire musculoskeletal system.
2. Elevated Soles:
This varies from the heel in that we are talking about the total distance the foot is the off the ground. Almost all shoes fall into the category of platform shoes. While some are much more exaggerated than others, I believe this lift is taking away our natural movement patterns.
Problems: Decreased Proprioception, Weakened Stabilizer Muscles, Additional Gait Pattern Changes
- The biggest issue with the elevated sole is the reduction of proprioception. This is essentially tied to balance and the stabilization issues as well. Proprioception is your brain's ability to process where our limbs (feet in this case) are in regards to the ground, taking into account equilibrium, motion, and position. The easiest way to illustrate this would be to wear thick gloves and try to type or do something that requires fine motor movements. It just feels awkward, like you aren't connected to what you are doing. It's difficult to tell your hands how to perform with the decrease in your sense. The elevated soles in your shoes remove the "connectedness"to the ground resulting in small muscles of your feet and ankles relaxing, further leading to muscle imbalances.
3. Cushioned Insoles:
All shoes inherently have cushion, only when going barefoot are we completely without it. These cushions especially in most running shoes have led to heel first running. Now I will admit I have been a life long culprit of heel running. I always blamed it on the fact I have flat feet, but the more I learn about human movement and my own experimentation with minimal shoes, the more I think my bulky shoes were the root of my problem.
Problems: Heel Striking, Knee, Ankle, & Lower Back Pain
- Running with what amounts to a pillow under your foot allows the body to do something that it will not do without it...Heel Strike. There is a simple way to test this yourself. Next time you go out to run (which I advise against in my post "10 Reasons you Should Quit Jogging and Start Sprinting") try taking your shoes off part way, you will immediately notice the pain when you try your first heel strike and you will try to adopt a mid-foot strike almost without thinking. We did not evolve to run on our heel, our lower legs are built to be shock absorbers but with the additional cushioning we have gotten lazy. This repeated jarring on the heel bone drives forces through the larger joints a way they were not designed for which eventually leads to pain. The majority of runners will experience overuse injuries in their knees, ankles, feet, or hips. With a transition to barefoot or minimal running this could eventually be alleviated.
This does not mean go out and run your normal 12k barefoot. Your motor patterns have been trained a certain way and your feet have been coddled in their cozy padded rooms we call shoes. It will take time to slowly transition to a different running form, building the strength and balance in the lower leg, as well as the re-wiring of those new motor-patterns.
4. Narrow Toe-Box
Do me a favor. Go grab a pair of shoes. Pull out the insole and place it on the ground. Now stand on that insole. I would almost guarantee if you put weight on your toes they spread out wider than the insole!
Now think about walking around each and every day with your toes smashed into some odd shaped shoes. The Majority of your life passes with your toes not being able to spread out. Eventually they become useless, like an atrophied arm inside a cast. None of those muscles are being used. You are essentially doing a form of foot binding, albeit a much more subtle version, but nevertheless you are hindering the natural movement your toes.
Problems: Reduced Mobility of the Foot and Toes, Structural Changes of the Foot and Toes (Hammer Toes, Bunions, etc...)
- Having your foot bound in shoes with a narrow toe box has drastically reduced the function of the toes in most people. Women especially have had a compounded problem of pointy high-heeled shoes, which force the toes into an even more unnatural shape. Read this page at naturalfootgear.com to see some examples of foot shape. We ave all handicapped ourselves with our choice of shoes. However, it is only recently that a small number of companies have begun to take notice of what we are doing to our feet and take action to synchronize the design of shoes with our natural movement patterns.
How Have Minimalist Running Shoes Solved These Problems?
Minimalist running shoes were designed to alleviate the 4 problems discussed earlier, in an attempt to allow our bodies to move in more natural pattern while still protecting the foot from dangers of the modern world.
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Elevated Heels:
Most minimalist running shoes are sold as either a zero-drop shoe or something like 4-5mm drop. This means that the shoes is either completely flat or is nearly flat and most certainly flatter than your current running shoes.
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Elevated Soles:
Minimal shoes usually market the actual thickness of the sole some shoes like the Vibrams have models with a thickness as little as 4mm. If you have never worn these before you will be surprised at how much of the ground you can feel. It definitely takes some easing into. That being said, the majority of the companies have soles much lower than that of the big brand running competition.
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Cushioned Insoles:
Many minimalist running shoes don't actually come with an insole inside. This works twofold, one you are lower to the ground (less elevation) and two, you have less cushion which gives you a better ground feel and keeps you from heel striking. If the shoes do have them they are removable so you can gradually reduce the amount of cushion.
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Narrow Toe-Box
This is still relatively new, even in the minimalist running shoe community. Nevertheless, there are shoes being made now that have a toe-box that is wider than the mid-foot. I will admit, these can elicit some interesting responses from fellow gym-goers. The looks are only a minor drawback in my opinion as you will almost immediately feel more balance and connected to the ground, which when performing any type of athletic activity is paramount.
My Conclusion
I have made a slow transition to minimalist running shoes over the past few years. Experimenting with the Vibram five fingers, New Balance Minimus, Vivo barefoot, and most recently I am testing out the Lems Boulder Boot. ( I am affiliated with Lems and I really do recommend their products).
While the initial change was awkward, sore muscles, aching joints, and a change in my gait, the change has been absolutely beneficial to my overall health.The major change I noticed is that I no longer sprain or roll my ankles.
Growing up playing basketball it seemed like I was spraining my ankles all the time. I would wear high tops and lace them up even tighter but it never seemed to help. Every few games I would end up stepping on someones shoe, or coming down weirdly...boom, sprained ankle. Now it might seem counterintuitive that a lighter shoe with not much support would keep this from happening but I think the answer is in the problems and benefits I have discussed here.
Minimal shoes keep your foot closer to ground, which means a lower center of gravity and less distance to pivot you ankle bone to the ground.
Secondly, your proprioception is increased in that you can feel the ground and where your foot is in relation to it.
Finally, Because your toes can spread out your foot has a larger surface area and therefore will not roll over as easily. Not to mention a dramatic increase in your balance.
Our feet literally connect us to the ground, do yourself a favor and go try on some of these shoes. They may feel different or weird, like you don't have support, but that is because they don't. Your feet have become useless in the way they were meant to function. It will take time and effort, but in the end you will be doing your body a huge favor.
Take those clunky casts of your feet and try something new!
Please check out my Lems banner on the right side if you are looking for some minimal shoes that can fit into your everyday lifestyle. If you are looking specifically for minimalist running shoes check out the brands I listed above or feel free to leave a comment about what you are looking for.
Thanks for Reading!
Tony D.