Barefoot running / Muscle Activation Therapy

[rajagra]

This ones easy to prove and you dont need any high speed pictures either. Take your shoes off and go for a run, you instinctively either run on your forefeet or flatfooted as there's no pillows under your heel to cushion the pain of the heel strikes.

The problem with that is that we have already developed unnatural habits by wearing shoes.
It is quite possible that if you grow up running barefooted, you might learn to heel-strike with grace, rather than hammering them into the ground.

 

[Doc4]

These are the resources that Vibram links to. http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/education/learn_more.cfm

 

[rajagra]

The link to the Nature article looks interesting, but you have to pay to see it.
Most of this is academic to me since I have a couple of webbed toes.
Maybe I should stick to swimming.

 

[Obsessed]

The issue as I see it is that everyone's feet have not evolved the same way. In the good old days, perhaps flat-footed over-pronators would have been overtaken and eaten by whatever animal was chasing them, and natural selection would favor people who were built to run barefoot. Over the past few thousand years, however, the ability to run barefoot has probably slipped farther and farther down the list of requirements for survival, for a wide variety of reasons. So the idea that everyone is "born to run" barefoot is pretty far-fetched. Similarly, I'm sure that extremely nearsighted people didn't live long enough in the Paleolithic Era to pass on their genes, while nowadays we're practically taking over. Just as some people have evolved, if you will, to need eyeglasses, some people almost certainly need running shoes.

Which is not to deny that some people get great results with barefoot running. For them it's apparently the way to go. But it seems to me that it's unwise and impossible to generalize about it. Reality is more complicated than that.

 

[Commander Quan]

Which is not to deny that some people get great results with barefoot running. For them it's apparently the way to go. But it seems to me that it's unwise and impossible to generalize about it. Reality is more complicated than that.

It absolutely is. I don't think everyone needs be running barefoot or in minimalist shoes, but if you have a problem running it should be something that you at least attempt. The issue is that most people think they run fine and they just don't have the right pair of shoes, just like the golfer who is constantly buying new clubs to help them play better.

When I heal strike my L4,L5 and L5,S1 dics blow up and I can't walk right for a week. I was seeing a Physical Therapist, who is known for helping runners, for a non running issue I was having, and mentioned this to him. He wrote down the names of a couple well cushioned running shoes and sent me to the local running store he refers people to to get fitted for some good shoes. I got a pair of Nikes with a huge foam sole on the bottom of them and yes they are comfortable to walk around in, but even with the gigantic marshmallow soles they still didn't help me to not get hurt. I started researching minimalist shoes and bought a pair of New Balance Minimus the next year. Running in a pair of Minimus didn't magically change my structural problems, but it forced me to move a different way, that lessens the impact of the foot strike on my body.

I read a line I thought was appropriate or the Nerd Fitness blog recently

To use a ridiculous and yet surprisingly applicable analogy: learning how to run is like taking a high school sex education class: let’s be honest, you’re gonna do it whether or not you’re given any instruction or advice, so you might as well learn how to do it safely so you don’t hurt yourself!

In what other sport do people participate without having the slightest clue how to do it correctly? Everyone has seen the guy or girl running down the road with such horrible form that you wonder how they don't fall on their head with each step, and they're probably doing more harm than good in the long run.

 

[Sullybob]

Out of curiosity, is there ANY evidence to show that forefoot striking is more natural?
It seems easy to check. Find any population that has never had access to running shoes, observe how they run.
Perhaps such people are hard to find nowadays. But surely there must be old footage lying around somewhere.
I'm reminded of the very early sequences of photos of horses running. They snapped people too IIRC.

Biomechanics of Foot Strikes & Applications to Running Barefoot or in Minimal Footwear The Skeletal Biology lab at Harvard University has some interesting information on barefoot running.

 

[MrLara]

After a lot of years of long distance running in cushioned shoes plus orthotics I begin having problems. Feet were hurting, lower back was painful, cramping in the calf that would not go away. My doctor suggested "Muscle Activation Therapy". After one session my back pain was mostly gone. This was after over ten years of pain. In my discussions with the trainer he suggested that problems I have been having including the back pain could very well stem from my running shoes. He is not a fan of orthotics (never mind that the price for custom made one is a total rip-off) - they don't allow the foot to do what it was designed for. He suggested barefoot running shoes. Lots of interesting information on the web with regard to this type of shoe. I went to a running store the specialized in barefoot running. I bought a "transition" shoe and was told just to walk in them - a very slow break-in period. (I am not running until the trainer takes care of the calf problem). I started walking a quarter mile and am now up to over one mile. I won't go into all the benefits since they can be found on the web. Let's just say I feel very good walking. The complete transition to these shoes could take several months. Anyone have these types of shoes? If so what are your opinions?

Is this a common problem with long distance runners?

I'm by no means an expert on the subject. but i have a read a few articles where this was expressed.

 

[rajagra]

Biomechanics of Foot Strikes & Applications to Running Barefoot or in Minimal Footwear The Skeletal Biology lab at Harvard University has some interesting information on barefoot running.

I was happy to see a video linked from there, and had high hopes of seeing something convincing.
It was disappointing. The scientists seem to have no grasp of physics. At one point they say that landing toe-first converts energy into rotational motion of the foot, so must reduce the force when the heel lands.
That's nonsense (on its own.) Sure, the foot is rotating and has (rotational) kinetic energy. But what happens when the heel lands??? All that energy is transferred back to the heel at exactly the same moment that it is absorbing the shock of the main landing. So you're back to square one!

What they need to do is work out if landing toe-first allows energy to be absorbed by some dampening effect. I.e. some part of the leg has to act as a shock absorber. I think that's quite likely, but these 'experts' haven't even mentioned this. Possibly because they failed to prove it, and saying so would look bad.

Edit> I read on. At this page, I paused the videos where the force was at its maximum. Results:
Heel Strike Barefoot: 2.40 x bodyweight
Heel Strike in Running Shoes 2.38 x bodyweight

Forefoot Strike Barefoot: 2.70x bodyweight
Forefoot Strike in Racing Flats: 2.46 x bodyweight
Forefoot Strike in Standard Running Shoes: 2.48 x bodyweight

The barefoot forefoot strike generates the highest force. They completely gloss over this, and focus instead on the transient spike that occurs earlier on, at a lower force.


At this point, I will propose an alternative theory. Landing forefoot-first does not in itself reduce forces. It merely gives feedback to the runner, allowing him to land the heel in a more controlled (softer) way - with practice.

 

[Dondoh]

It looks to me like the peak force occurs during the section of the gait where the foot drives the step rather than at the landing. The heel strike "shock" is at the beginning of the force curve. The later peak is just the foot pushing you forward and is engaging the whole constellation of muscles which drive you forward while running. I think the point they are making is that the initial shock force retards forward movement and generates a jarring force at the beginning of the gait cycle, whereas the "natural" force curve found when running with a forefoot strike causes less stress by distributing the stress naturally and by loading the stress gradually.

I'm not sure this is true, I am just speculating on the curves.

 

[Neognosis]

Contrary to all advice, I bought a pair of New Balance Minimus shoes and just started running two miles a day in them right away.

I have had no issues.

 

[Parjay]

I have been full blown minimalist for over two years. Running, office job, casual...

I used to have crazy shin pain/numbness after 2-3 miles. Ever since I made the (gradual) transition, I have been injury free. I don't think it is for everyone, but like earlier posters have mentioned, it is sure worth a try if other types of shoes give you problems.