The Adam's Effective Sipes

As a profound adherent of the minimalist footwear lifestyle, I looked forward to trying out Altra’s new Adam. I found it to be an extremely versatile, balanced, and comfortable shoe that is supremely well adapted to everything you can do with your feet: from walking, to running, to just loafing around. This shoe is so advanced that just like the Adam who launched the human race, it is sure to launch a new era in minimalist footwear.

Comfort through technology

The comfort level of the Adam minimalist shoe truly has to be experienced to be believed. It seems to be a cliché that they are as comfortable as wearing nothing at all, but in the case of this advanced Altra shoe it’s very true. They are supple, flexible, and snug while still allowing plenty of room for your feet to move unhindered. The Adam seems to have taken minimalist footwear technology, design, and engineering to the next phase, and walkers, joggers, and runners everywhere can rejoice… and throw their expensive, heavy, and stultifying traditional running shoes in the nearest river!

Seamless removable footbeds

The performance rubber outsole of the Adam is what Altra has termed the BareSole, and at an almost paper thin 3.4 mm it starts to feel like an extension of your own feet. Footbeds are included to be fitted within the Adam but they can be left out if you prefer to really get that just-about-barefoot feeling when you’re walking, jogging, or running. The footbeds are free of stitches or seams so they also contribute to the heavenly level of comfort of this amazing minimalist shoe. I also never had the secure-cinch strapping budge by one millimeter all the time I was wearing them! These shoes are more secure than a Swiss bank account!

Razor sipes provide phenomenal traction

The Altra Adam not only does a great job protecting the feet from any roadside or trail hazards such as broken glass and sharp rocks, but it also provides cat-like traction on wet, slippery, and icy surfaces. The soles are molded with what Altra calls razor sipes and the best way to describe how they work is to drive your car in snow with regular street tires, and then change over to an aggressive tread winter tire. The difference is palpable as when you’re wearing the Altra Adam, you feel like you have so much traction you can walk or run anywhere at any time. Except straight up walls. Leave that to Spiderman.

Protects and cools your feet

Even though I’m writing this in Northern Indiana in January when I can only dream about heat, the Altra Adam seems like one of the best choices for barefoot runners on hot asphalt. The sole’s design and the breathable stretch fabric upper are so well thought out and engineered that the Adam should do a great job of keeping your feet cool through the warmest days on the most sizzling tarmac: The kind that would leave bare feet looking like you just walked across hot coals! On a nice hot summer day you want a nice T-Bone steak charred on the outside, not the soles of your feet!

The Altra Adam is a very impressive minimalist shoe which I recommend to anyone. It’s exactly what you want for casual and competitive running, and with the Adam shoe’s comfort, balance, and traction, it’s a natural complement to anyone engaging in my FloWalking method of better walking (http://www.flowalking.com/)!

To learn more about the amazing Altra Adam, check out http://www.altrazerodrop.com/

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One of the most notable problems that people who practice yoga have with regards to their feet is that in some positions their bare feet can slip and cause a fall. There are few things worse in yoga than doing a Garudasana Eagle Pose and end up crash landing on your beak because your foot slipped out from under you! Socks and slippers do not allow the toes to be free enough to grip and balance properly, plus they can overheat the foot causing it to sweat and slip even further.

Maximum traction, foot (and toe) flexibility, and breathability

Stick-e Yoga Socks http://www.stick-e.com/yogaaccessories.html solved all of these problems by engineering special socks specifically for the practice of yoga, pilates, karate, dancing and other athletic pursuits where maximum traction and foot flexibility is a prerequisite. Libby Andrews of Stick-e Products LLC invented this remarkable new form of minimalist footwear, and I can confidently say that she did a magnificent job. They’re really amazing!

 Stick-e Yoga Socks have cut outs for your toes so can better grip the floor or mat, and more importantly, so they can work! Most people do not think much about using their toes when walking or doing activities, yet toes are very muscular or as I say in my FloWalking http://flowalking.com/ workshops: “toes are tiny but mighty.” Men, in order to keep your self-respect, only use this motto about your toes and no other part of your anatomy.

Andrews has also designed the socks with a Stick-e bottom, so the next time you are doing the Adho Mukha Svanasana Downward Dog pose, you are less likely to end up sprawled out like a greyhound on a skating rink! The Stick-e surface held up well, even after I spent 90 minutes on the treadmill doing my FloWalking workout.

1/3 of yoga practitioners still wear basic socks or shoes

It’s estimated that yoga currently has over 20 million followers and about a third of them continue to wear socks or even shoes during their exercises because they are shunning going barefoot. All yoga enthusiasts, whether barefoot or wearing socks or shoes should try the Stick-e Yoga Socks to experience the ultimate in foot comfort, traction, and flexibility. Once you try some of the most basic yoga exercises while wearing these socks, you’ll never do yoga in any other way!

Superlative for FloWalking

I recommend Stick-e Yoga Socks to all my patients who do yoga, but now I’m able to encourage people on yet another activity which these amazing socks are absolutely perfect for: All of the features that allow Stick-e Socks to provide such superlative advantages when practicing yoga are equally applicable to individuals who are engaged in FloWalking [http://flowalking.com/]! The additional comfort, freedom, control, and traction allowed by the Stick-e Yoga Socks can be a boon to any FloWalker! Let me leave you with a bit of yogic wisdom: Blessed are the flexible, for they shall not be bent out of shape!

To learn more about Stick-e Yoga Socks and Andrews’ other amazing Stick-e products go to http://www.stick-e.com/yogaaccessories.html

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Some people consider the fact that more and more people are successfully running barefoot some kind of scientific enigma. The “Free Your Feet” graphic below makes some of the science behind barefoot running easy to understand simply and eloquently. This artistic and pleasantly graphic interpretation of the various statistics and historical facts which support barefoot running makes some exceptional points:

Bulky Shoes Are Failing Us – Running while wearing athletic footwear exerts more strain on the joints of the leg and foot than walking in high heels!

The History Of Running Shoes – The Tarahumara of Mexico can run for two full days, covering up to 300 miles non-stop, wearing only leather thongs or tire strips!

The Science Of Barefoot Running – A comparison of the heel strike which is predominant when running with shoes vs. the more relaxed position of the bare foot landing on its ball.

The graphic goes on to show that traditional running shoes have been proven to create an extra:

• 54% hip rotation torque
• 36% knee flexion torque
• 38% knee varus torque

The graphic does close with a warning that transitioning to barefoot running is a process which should be done gradually, starting out with brief jogs before graduation to longer runs. It’s a recommendation which I heartily endorse!

Check out the entire graphic at: http://www.xraytechnicianschools.net/free-your-feet/

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MSNBC Interviewed Me To Tell Toe Tales

Feet often mirror overall health. For example, when a 41-year-old man came to my office with pain and swelling in his foot, he thought he had injured himself playing baseball; instead, we discovered a tumor in his neck. The tumor was altering chemicals in his body. One of these chemicals, uric acid, was so severely elevated that it couldn’t be contained in his bloodstream and entered several joints in his foot, causing his atrocious pain. The patient had the tumor removed, and a month later his foot pain disappeared. This case was especially rewarding because had this tumor not been caught, it could have affected his heart, possibly becoming fatal.

Most instances of feet revealing medical conditions are not this dramatic, but many systemic problems often show up in our feet first.

A recent article on msnbc.com entitled This Little Piggy Went To Medical School:
Your Toes And Fingers Point The Way To Disease Clues discussed the ways toes can indicate overall health and fitness, or point to potential medical problems. Examination of the toes can reveal clues to nutritional deficiencies and blood flow obstructions.

I Discussed How Toes Reveal Our Overall Health

In the article I stated that “Toes talk. They don’t rattle on like some annoying relative. They do often mirror overall health – at times being the first place to show signs of serious medical problems. Nowadays, with MRIs, CT scans, and hundreds of blood tests to choose from, few doctors look at toes. But in ancient times, examining the toes was as important as having patients stick out their tongue.”

Toenails Can Indicate Vitamin & Mineral Deficiency

I also explained in the article how flat or spoon-like toenails may indicate a deficiency in various B vitamins, and that fraying toenails could point to lack of sufficient Vitamin C. If toenails are found to have white patches on them, a conclusion may be drawn that zinc supplements need to be recommended.

Morton’s Toe Does Not Equal Fame & Fortune

There are many “old wives tales” circulating with regards to personal characteristics which are allegedly possible to extrapolate through toe examination. Morton’s toe is an anatomical feature whereby the second toe is longer than the big toe, and it is often associated with chronic pain due to the creation of excessive pressure at the ball of the foot behind the second toe. However, people have believed for hundreds of years that a longer second toe indicates that the individual is fated for status, fame, and fortune. I stated in the article that “I have not seen any proof of this.”

Toe Analysis Is A Valid Tool

Although there is reliable clinical evidence to support that analysis of the toes can support and substantiate the diagnosis of various ailments, individual personality quirks or an outlook on a person’s “fate” remain firmly outside the realms of medical science. Those types of prophesies are best left to the pagan pontiffs interpreting the spilled sacred goat entrails.

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The Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) has just published a two part news feature article on barefoot running, The Rise of Barefoot Running  and Low Tech Running Shoes in High Demand. Its conclusions as to the state of current medical research and the overall progress of the sport are definitely worth reviewing.

CMAJ Scrutinized The Research On Both Sides Of The Issue

The CMAJ articles are extremely fair and balanced, eloquently discussing both sides of the issue. On behalf of barefoot running, the association stated that it “encourages people to take shorter strides and to land more softly on the middle or front of their feet, which some people believe reduces injuries and strengthens foot muscles”, and “there is no scientific evidence that all the cushioning in high-tech running shoes provide a health benefit”.

Experts Agree That More Research Is Needed To Support Barefoot Running

CMAJ quoted a number of experts in podiatry and running kinetics supporting barefoot running, including articles published in Nature and Dan Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University who stated “the key thing is not being barefoot, but using a barefoot style, and not colliding into the ground with your heels.”

Dr. Kevin Kirby, an adjunct associate professor at the California School of Podiatric Medicine in Oakland examined the paucity of clinical research in the field on both sides of the issue and stated that “there is also no research that indicates running shoes reduce injuries.“

I Provided CMAJ With Information To Bolster The Benefits of Barefoot Running

The CMAJ articles quoted me in stating that “there is a lot of research that is leaning in (the) direction” of supporting that running barefoot has beneficial effects. To help bolster the case against running shoes, I stated that “there are four layers of muscle in our feet. The majority of the muscles are used less, if at all, when the feet are in supportive footwear.”

In my CMAJ interview I also stated that “there’s an idea that our feet need a lot of help or support. The truth is that feet are really strong and resilient”.

Runners Of All Styles Can Look Forward To More Rigorous Scientific Dialogue

The CMAJ should be lauded and commended for focusing on the full breadth of scientific evidence with regards to barefoot running. Further clinical research is certainly called for in this field, and all runners can look forward to more authoritative medical organizations like CMAJ publishing their findings and supporting the sport through rigorous scientific dialogue.

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Barefoot running continues to grow in popularity throughout the world as more runners shun their supportive running shoes. The benefits and advantages of barefoot running are now being celebrated in India by the Barefoot Runners Of India Foundation (BRIF), which is holding its first Barefoot Half Marathon on December 12 at Kharghar, near Mumbai. BRIF will host 300 completely barefoot young runners, with no FiveFingers or other minimalist shoes in sight. Most of these habitual Indian runners are convinced that they can run faster barefoot and shun shoes altogether!

The Idea Came From The Barefoot Statue Of Pheidippides

Event organizer Anand Anantharaman says that he got the idea for the half marathon when he was running from Marathon to Athens and noticed that the statue of the ancient Greek marathon running hero Pheidippides was in bare feet!

The Event Is Supported By Marathon Luminaries

BRIF’s Barefoot Half Marathon is attracting authoritative plaudits from all over the world, including Enrico Castrucci, the president of the Rome Marathon; Dave McGillivray, the race director of the Boston Marathon; and sport personalities Barefoot Rick and Barefoot Ted.

The World Record Attempt Will Be Expanded Further Next Year

BRIF is also registering the event with the Guinness Book Of World Records as the largest barefoot half marathon ever held, and expects to expand the scope next year to take in runners from many other districts across the subcontinent.

You Can Support The Organization’s Goals

BRIF will not be charging any running fees to the participants in order to nurture the talent of low income runners, and will be facing considerable expenses in cash prizes and transportation, as well as room and board for the young runners. To help meet these expenses, the organization has launched a retail support program where runners can be sponsored by a very affordable donation of $50 at Yes I Want To Help BRIF. The organization’s Facebook presence at Barefoot Runners India contains up to the minute news and covers the preparations for the event in detail, as does their Facebook Fan Page which has already tallied over 1,500 participants.

BRIF’s dedication and commitment to the sport of barefoot running certainly deserves your support. After all… you have nothing to lose but your shoes!

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A healthy, pretty foot.

Until 1949 when the millennium-long tradition was finally outlawed, most Chinese women had their feet broken and bound for life in order to adopt a desired pointed “lotus” shape. That practice sounds repugnant to modern women, thus it makes it even more surprising that a growing number of women are subjecting their feet to major surgical procedures for no other reason than to be able to walk in stilettos.

Major Foot Surgeries Solely For Cosmetic Reasons

Some of the surgeries include:

Toe shortening – A bone segment is removed
Toe lengthening – The bone is cut and lengthened with an implant
Toe straightening – Bone near the joint is removed to fix a curl
Toe slimming – The bone is shaved
Foot padding – Filler or fat is injected into the ball of the foot
Foot narrowing – The entire foot is reduced in width

Although some of these procedures are carried out to assist patients with deformed or injured feet, the recent boom in their popularity is strictly cosmetic: Women want their feet to look better in expensive shoes, or to be able to walk more comfortably on heels that can exceed four inches in height and place the foot at an extremely unnatural angle which is often greater than 45 degrees.

The Desire For Carrie Bradshaw Feet

The desire to have feet which could feature in Sex In The City protagonist Carrie Bradshaw’s ultimate Manolo Blahnik fantasy is driving thousands of women to undergo surgeries without considering the serious consequences. In a recent issue of the Wall Street Journal, I warned that these women “want to look their best and they don’t understand the risks.“

26 Bones & 30 Joints Designed To Hold Up Your Entire Body

Both the American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society, and the American Podiatric Medical Association which represents nearly 9 out of every 10 podiatrists in the United States, have adopted strong positions against these forms of cosmetic surgery. The human foot is a delicate assemblage of 26 major bones and 30 joints, and these organizations do not believe that women’s aspiration to look good on a Saturday evening balances out the risk of lifelong pain and permanent deformities which may require several corrective operations. Some women are rendered unable to walk properly at all from these ill-advised cosmetic surgeries.

Foot Surgeries Are Being Considered In The Breast Augmentation League

Enchanting women by the allure of operations which are hyped under fanciful names such as The Cinderella Procedure, aesthetic foot surgeries are flourishing in the moneyed canyons of Beverly Hills and many of the country’s elite enclaves such as Manhattan and Miami Beach. Lulled into a false sense of confidence by the apparent ease of breast augmentation surgeries, women fall into the trap of believing that their feet can have an equally easy makeover: while failing to consider that feet are designed to bear the weight of the entire body through a wide variety of strides, and are not to be modified to fit fashion.

Unlike breasts, you have to walk on your feet!

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Foot Articles on the Web

Here is my pick of the latest, greatest foot, ankle and podiatry related articles on the web:

Pregnancy is a bundle of joy, but not for your feet! Podiatrist Scott Kilberg has written a great review of the effects of pregnancy on our feet. Check out Foot Problems During Pregnancy and for more from Dr. Kilberg, visit his blog My Aching Foot.

Shin splints eventually affects just about every runner and Podiatrist Andrew Schneider has written a good synopsis on this common problem. His blog also has some of the best writing about our feet and ankles that you can find. Check out Dr. Schneider’s superb writing and and learn about shin splints HERE.

Bunions are among the top podiatry problems we see. Podiatrist Jennifer Feeny has written a good review – Bunions: A Pain in the Foot. Her blog can be found HERE. If you want to know when a Bunion is Not a Bunion, check out Dr. Marybeth Crane’s article HERE.

If you want to dance, you may have to pay the piper – or the podiatrist! Dance takes a toll on the feet. For a great introduction to foot pronation and how it can be the cause of your knee pain, read Lisa Howell’s How to Understand Overpronation and Knee Pain If You Have Flat Feet.  

Speaking of Flat Feet, there is a basic introduction to flat feet and Choosing the Best Running Shoes at the Running Shoe Guru.

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Ask the Foot Doctor Your Questions

Today we start a new feature: the chance to ask Dr. Nirenberg a foot or ankle question.

The Internet has changed how we learn and understand our world, and our medical problems and conditions—especially our foot and ankle problems. Information is now literally at our fingertips! I firmly believe knowledge is power. However, due to legal issues and restrictions on physicians practicing telemedicine, answers to questions are strictly for informational purposes. Readers will still be able to learn much by asking questions, but the answers are not a substitute for medical care (for a more medical detailed disclaimer read this site’s Terms of Use).

As for your questions, we are looking for great, fascinating foot and ankle questions that our readers will find interesting.

The questions can concern anything related to our feet and ankles, from simple warts or corns to arthritic or weak ankles, and everything in-between. Questions do not have to be strictly medical related. (For example, I was recently asked why our feet are ticklish, and soon I will post an entire article on this fascinating question.)  

So start asking your questions right now! Click Ask a Question.

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Be Careful What You Put In the Toilet

I am not sure how to categorize this post (perhaps, under “Dumb Things People Do With Their Feet”).

In any event, don’t try this at home. An inmate at a city jail has been charged with felony mischief for using his foot to block the toilet and flood his cell.

I don’t want to think about the germs on his foot!

Read about this nonsense here: Buffalo News

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