There has been some press recently about how going barefoot may save aging joints. Research suggests that perhaps cushiony shoes are actually bad for our joints.
Measurements of foot strike indicated that when we are barefoot our outside edge of the ball and toes hit first, then foot rolls forward gripping, and then the arch flattens out as our heels and the rest of the foot touch. When we are in shoes our heel hits first.
Researchers suggest that barefoot we actually cushion more of the shock and the heel does not receive so much force. They propose for runners, that if they ran barefoot that they might be less susceptible to chronic injuries of the knees, ankles and hips in our aging joints.
There are these cool shoes called Vibram Five Fingers that look at bit like they belong to a wet suit that are protecting the foot while allowing the effects of running barefoot.
In this video, check out the difference of how the foot goes down in shoes and Vibram Five Fingers. It is only a few seconds, but you have to watch it at least twice focusing on one or the other footwear to see the difference.
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If you want to read more the recent Time magazine has an article.
One thing I did wonder about is wearing flip flops, which have recently had a bad rap, partially due to their lack of cushioning. The reason I wondered, as a person who would wear flip flops year round if it was warm enough where I live, is that I wear out the under the ball of the foot faster than I wear out the heel. I did find out one comment that knee osteoarthritis is low in China where flip flops are very common footwear, suggesting that they may be closer to barefoot than regular shoes.
Flip flops rule!
