For thousands of years, many people in the world were always barefoot and never wore shoes or any types of feet coverings. Today, people have closets filled with dozens and dozens of shoes and there are even avid shoe collectors out there. Of course they protect our feet, but could they potentially be bad for the way we walk?
“The human foot works pretty well on its own, and it doesn’t need a lifetime of help from shoes,” says, Adam Sternbergh, in his NY Magazine article. He talks about how over the past couple million of years; our foot has been evolving to work perfectly without a shoe. Sternbergh believes that shoes are ruining all of what evolution has done and that they are might actually be bad for our feet. How could shoes be bad for us? Of course they protect our feet, but Sternbergh means the way in which we walk in shoes compared to barefoot.
We need to understand and trust our feet when it comes to comfortable shoes. In a study overseen by an expert in biomechanics, Dr. Nigg, soldiers were asked to try and wear six different inserts in their foot and to pick the one that was most comfortable for them. In the following months, the soldiers had a much lower incidence of injury if they were wearing the insert they thought was most comfortable, compared to those soldiers that were not wearing any inserts. Dr. Nigg says that we should always listen to our bodies (feet in particular in this situation) and not fight our natural movement patterns. If we follow his advice, than we will lower our risk of injury.
Some people believe we should wear toe shoes to let our feet take its natural movement, but many scientists completely disagree with this statement and say they make no difference. All in all, obviously we are not going to stop wearing shoes because that is just unrealistic, but maybe we should try to wear them less, whether walking around your house or just strolling through your background.
What an interesting blog post! I wouldn’t have thought about shoes at all. But…I’m glad you did. I always take my shoes off when I get home, come into my dorm room, or even when I am sitting in class. I sometimes knock my shoes off and get comfortable. If you check this out, you’ll see 6 reasons why it is good to take your shoes off. These include: bacteria, toxins, dirt, wear and tear, neighbors, and comfort and health.
This is a very interesting topic. When I run, for example, I now use a “minimalist” shoe. It does not have a huge, cushioned heal. The sole is a flat piece of rubber, and the idea behind it is to run naturally. At first when I switched to running in this type of shoe, my calves were very sore. This style of running forces a person to strike with their forefoot or mid-foot, not the heel. It is hypothesized that striking with the heel while running puts a great deal of stress on joints, which can cause adverse effects as one ages.
This was interesting to read, because I always felt as if shoes were protecting our feet and walking barefoot is not the best thing to do. But when looking at it from an evolution standpoint, it does make sense that we have evolved by walking with barefoot, we are changing the process by wearing shoes. It would be beneficial to a study over a few months with participants who wear shoes, and those who don’t and see who felt less pain in the long run. Shoes protect us from sharp objects, but walking barefoot around smooth surfaces might not be so bad after all. I think the overall concept would be more effective in your blog if you were to find some studies to back up your points.
One of the most frustrating things about living in a college dorm is the fact that I cannot go to the bathroom without having to put shoes on. According to Best Colleges Online, bathroom floors take the cake for a place that many college students undermine its unsanitary features. In one test conducted, researchers found 2 million bacteria per square inch on a college bathroom floor. This amount is 200 times higher than a sanitary surface! Although going shoeless may be freeing for our feet, in some instances, it is not something I will do. My feet may ache, but preventing myself from bacteria entering my body is worth it.
As someone who wears high heels a lot, I can definitely see how certain types of shoes might actually be terrible for your feet. After wearing heels for a couple of hours, my feet are in so much pain and I always feel like I can’t move for a while. Check out this article that explains more in depth why high heels are so bad for you!