Comments on: Are Your Running Shoes Dangerous?

By: Are Your Running Shoes Dangerous? « Barefoot Running

Are Your Running Shoes Dangerous? « Barefoot Running — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 21:46:03 +0000

[...] this article from America’s Podiatrist, Dr. Nirenburg discusses barefoot running. Are your shoes dangerous? [...]

By: Angela

Angela — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 03:20:34 +0000

I am a 56 year old female, 5’4″, 132 lbs, have good arches, but also have morton’s toe on both feet. When I recently started riding a Trikke (3 wheel cambering vehicle) the balls of my feet started feeling very bruised and in researching the Trikke came across references to the Vibram shoes having helped with foot pain with the owner of the company himself having Morton’s Toe. I have bought a pair of Vibram Five Fingers shoes that I intend to gradually work into wearing most of the time. I am also alternating with some cushiony croc type shoes and a pair of native Indian made moccasins with the thick molded pure leather bottoms but have removed the foam cushion that I had put in when I first bought them a couple of years ago. Today when the balls of my feet were really bothering me I did an exercise recommended on one barefoot running site where you lie on your stomach with your feet hanging off the bed and try to pull yourself backwards with your feet against the edge of the bed basically stretching & strengthening the muscles across the tops of the feet. It did seem to give me some relief and so I will keep it up. Running in the Vibrams does feel nice although I do notice I am adjusting how I place my feet as I run in response to temporary minor discomforts here and there. I am also researching info and watching videos as to proper running technique. I have up until the last couple of months been a walker not a Trikker or runner but am hoping to thus become more fit as well as keep up with my husband who has been slow jogging for about ten years now. Hopefully over time I will be able to report that I can both Trikke and run painlessly.

By: Maggie

Maggie — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 23:43:20 +0000

I threw away my running shoes two years ago after they wore out I met a fitness trainer from England, a former British Marine, who only wore his sneakers to run (he now coaches at a program called Wildfitness in Watamu, Kenya). I thought, if he can do it, why not me? it was not easy at first. My feet were not strong. Gradually, the strengh increased. I have not had any injuries so far. I run 5k’s easily. As for not enough cushioning, baloney. Our feet have their own padding! The padding increases the more we run without running shoes. Our feet and bodies start to run the way they were intended to, not the way they were forced to by some manufactured running shoe. What did people run on before the ’60s and ’70′s when running shoes first came out? Sneakers. I rest my case. Plus, I save a hell of a lot of money. I’m a 49 year old woman, by the way, so don’t think this is the wild idea of some young person. If it worked for me, it can work for anyone. I say, don’t let the big shoe companies fool you into thinking you need these fancy shoes. We were born to run.