There’s a primitive movement afoot… barefoot running is suddenly getting trendy in the wake of studies that say it prevents injury. Is it really better—and is it for everyone?
The concept is hardly new—after all, humans have run barefoot since they stood up on two legs millions of years ago, and “running shoes” didn’t even exist until the 1970s. While today’s high-tech ones have features such as memory foam that forms to the contours of the sole, motion control for extra support and wicking fabrics to absorb and remove excess perspiration, there’s a cadre of runners who have always run barefoot and continue to do so—among them some of the famed, record-setting African runners who make you wonder if it could be that barefoot running is not only harmless but may actually enhance performance.
Recent studies suggest that modern running shoes actually may cause injuries to runners. In a study that has received a lot of media attention, a research team led by Daniel E. Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, compared the “impact collision force” (when the foot hits the ground) of runners in shoes versus barefoot. They found that impact is reduced by two-thirds by running in bare feet—the difference is in how the feet strike the ground. Barefoot runners tend to land each step on the ball (forefoot strike) or middle (midfoot strike) of the foot, which is gentler than the “heel strike” typical of running in shoes. Landing on the bare foot reduces twisting (or pronation) because the motion of the foot is only up and down, whereas shoes cause the foot to roll. The study appeared in the January 28, 2010, issue of Nature.
In another study, researchers compared the hip and knee joint torque of 68 healthy young adult runners (37 women and 31 men) who first ran barefoot and then while wearing running shoes (all of the same type) at a controlled speed on a treadmill. Barefoot was better here, too. Shoes increased hip torque 54%, on average, and knee torque by 36% to 38%, resulting in greater risk of injury—the study authors noted that this additional torque is even more extreme than it would be from walking in high heels! This study was published in the December 2009 issue of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation: The Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation.
For insight into these studies, we spoke with Christopher McDougall, author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Super Athletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Ever Seen. A recreational jogger who had a long history of injuries, McDougall told me he had given up running altogether on the advice of a top sports-medicine physician who warned that he was at risk of permanently ruining his feet and knees. But then McDougall heard about Mexico’s Tarahumara Indians, who run hundreds of miles at a time wearing thin homemade sandals. One Tarahumara runner even won a 100-mile footrace through the Rocky Mountains, beating the best ultra-runners in the US—at age 55!
When he studied them, McDougall discovered that the Tarahumara aren’t great runners despite their lack of shoes, but because of it… they land lightly and gently on their forefeet, touching down briefly with their heels before springing forward into their next stride—which, not coincidentally, is exactly how children run naturally in bare feet.
McDougall explained that thickly cushioned modern running shoes elevate the heel and cushion the medial aspect (arch) of the foot, increasing stress on joints because the foot can’t compensate for torque upon impact as it was designed to do.
According to McDougall, the earlier and more minimal running shoes (the ones introduced back in the ’70s) were actually better for our feet than today’s running shoes. He said that they were basically like “strips of rubber with laces,” noting that the problems began when shoe design shifted from protection to correction, featuring “giant shock absorbers, thick soles, overbuilt arch supports and even microchips in the soles to control midstride stiffness.”
Minimalism is coming back: One of the top-selling sports shoes now looks like an odd “foot glove” and is called the Vibram FiveFingers. Originally designed as a water shoe, it was eagerly adopted by barefoot runners because it offers only a thin layer of protection that doesn’t interfere with the foot’s natural motion. (Cost: $70 to $110, depending on model.) Nike, New Balance and other athletic shoe companies are now adding minimalist models to their product lines as well.
If you really want to try it “barefoot,” here is McDougall’s advice:
This is all very interesting, isn’t it? If you decide to give it a try, take a moment to send a note and let us know how it goes.
