You Can Avoid the Doctors Office By โฆ. Walking Barefoot?
๐๐ผCan you guess why walking barefoot is literally medicine?
// A Thread //
๐๐ผCan you guess why walking barefoot is literally medicine?
// A Thread //
Years of wearing shoes have a massive effect on many of the smaller (intrinsic) muscles of your feet. As you can imagine this has an effect all the way up the chain to your hips and low back (with studies showing effects up to the neck- itโs all connected!).
Just by walking barefoot, you activate many of these smaller muscles that have been dormant secondary to our cushioned footwear. That footwear we are wearing does offer us protection but that comes at a cost: reduced activation, strength/stability, altered gait, etc.
Beyond that, your feet are deeply innervated, there are complex neural pathways associated with them. When they are covered all of the time - we are literally shutting off brain connections. Our proprioception or awareness of the environment via our feet is literally shut off.
As mentioned, the body functions as an interconnected kinematic chain. Poor foot control can provide an unstable platform for muscles above them. And it shows! Several studies comparing barefoot to traditional shoes reveal some interesting findings (keep reading)..
Long-term use of footwear has been shown to result in anatomical and functional changes: reduced foot width and forefoot spreading under load due to the constraints of the shoe structure. Walking in footwear results in an increase in stride length and greater forces at contact.
Walking barefoot? A reduced initial vertical impact force and more even distribution of pressure across the foot is experienced when walking barefoot which is likely to be as a result of a larger contact surface area achieved via a flatter foot placement.
Whatโs more? We arenโt entirely sure of all of the ramifications of footwear as we age. Little research on barefoot walking has been completed in adults approaching older age where foot problems and gait deficiencies are most prevalent.
Meaning the sooner you can implement these changes the better. But should you jump into barefoot walking or running right away. Unless you want to see me (a physical therapist) consistently, pump the brakes. It needs to be gradual, especially when running.
As with any running modification that I may give to patients, you need to implement slowly so that your tissues have the time to adjust to the suddenly increased load. A good rule of thumb? 1 minute of every 5 on easy runs only for the first 4 weeks. Walking is a bit easier.
But if youโve heard of someone switching to minimalist shoes and getting hurt right away. Adaptation is the issue. You need to give your body time to adapt, and then reap the benefits. For some, this may be multiple weeks - but regardless.
Not sure where to start? Have more issues than just your feet?
We solve chronic pain that the broken, traditional model can't. Doctors of Physical therapy
Sign up for a free assessment with a RootCause Doctor of Physical Therapy below:
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We solve chronic pain that the broken, traditional model can't. Doctors of Physical therapy
Sign up for a free assessment with a RootCause Doctor of Physical Therapy below:
rootcauseintegrativept.com
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