Does anyone have any knowledge or informed opnions re the MBT range of footwear? I talked with one of their salesmen recently. They seem to be a sort of rocker bottom shoe but are also convex transversely, the idea being to act as a permanent wobble board thus keeping the muscles active both while walking and while standing.
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It makes sense to me that this would strengthen the less used muscles, especially for people like shop assistants who stand up all day- but wouldn't it also make you tired?
Their website is www.mbt4fitnessandposture.co.uk
Their brochure quotes some supportive research, but nothing that I can access.
Pete Luce
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MBT shoes are best worn on relatively flat, level, predictable surfaces. The instability of the shoe is easy to control on flat surfaces. But I advise my customers to be careful about their footing on uneven terrain, including grass, sand and cobblestones. The MBT will go wherever the terrain takes it.
As for fatigue, we recommend that our customers break the shoes in gradually during their first week of wear. Maybe 2 hours the first day, then gradually increase wear each day. They will usually feel "workout soreness" in their calf muscles, hamstrings and glutes. To be honest, I felt muscles I never knew I had the first week of wearing MBT shoes.
We do not recommend MBT shoes for people with balance problems or vertigo. Many of these people will feel "sea sick" as soon as they stand up in the shoes. People must also be able to walk correctly in MBTs. If they are visibly over-pronating in the shoe, we coach them to stay on the lateral half of the shoe and let the shoe do the work. If this is too difficult for the wearer to achieve, we will not sell the shoe and suggest an alternate shoe. Hope this helps. -
I believe the Massaai do not wear them!:boxing:
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Actually, I heard quite a different story about the origination about the "Masai" association with MBT shoes. According to the story, the inspiration came from Asian workers in rice paddies. They had good posture and few orthopedic problems with their lower extremities. Karl Muller (inventor of MBTs). living in Korea at the time, observed their gait, and developed the MBT. Since branding a $250 product around a "peasant culture" seemed ludicrous, they chose the Masai tribe for it's "mystique".
I can't validate this story, but I found it interesting.
Furthermore, I seriously doubt the Masai tribesmen spend the majority of their time walking on concrete, tile and hard surfaces. They would be better suited wearing sandals or Vibram Five Fingers! Ouch, I didn't say that!!! -
From what I hear the standard footwear for a massai tribesman is a sandle made from a rubber tyre!
I find it quite amusing that we as a society have this utopean view of "natural health". We have all the footwear we want and the fashion runs to barefoot or shoes which claim to simulate barefoot. We have proper medicines and the fashion is to lust after "natural" herbal and alternative medicine. Wheras the cultures we aspire to who use alternative medicine and such are desparate for real medicine and decent footwear!
Got to laugh. -
It somewhat seems ironic to me that we as podiatrists normally encourage shoes that will enable a more efficient gait, and therefore, require less muscle exertion to wear them, not shoes that challenge your leg muscles!
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Here is a research paper from 2006 which showed that there were no significant differences in pain reduction or static balance between the MBT and a good walking shoe (over a 12 week period and with respect to knee osteoarthritis).
IanAttached Files:
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Whats so good about challenging the leg muscles then?
You make an unsupported assumption there, that a more efficient gait requires less muscle exertion. Orthotics (can) improve the efficiency of gait and (can) strengthen intrinsic muscles. MBTs increase demand in some muscles but they also cut hallux dorsiflexion right down (thats why they are hell on wheels for SHl) so they will decrease demand in other structures. Gross statements about "strengthening muscles) are perhaps not the most accurate or defensible in the world!
Here's fun.
MBT's -> less hallux dorsiflexion.
Less hallux dorsiflexion -> less windlass function
Less windlass function over long period -> ???????
Got nothing against MBTs. I recommend them for certain things. But the general claim that they are better because they strengthen or "challenge" muscles is, in my humble opinion, an absolute crock.
Cool name by the way. Are you blue?
Regards
Robert -
Tell you one way absolutlely certain to increase muscle demand in ALL the relevant gait muscles by 10% though.
Tell your patient to walk 10% further.
Works, and its free!Last edited: Jun 6, 2010 -
I have had occasion to wear some MBTs and find them mostly comfortable but they tend to put alot of stress on the 1st MPJ and so are probably not suitable for hallux limitus/rigidus patients. I've found they are very beneficial for patients in standing occupations (such as hairdressers) that have severe heel pain, this is because in stance position all the weight is in the midfoot and the patients can 'rock' whilst standing to redistribute the pain away from sore areas. I've had two patients with confirmed painful heelspurs say that their MBTs have literally saved their careers.
Leah Claydon -
This is one of the few patient sub-sets I would have thought MBTs are suitable for (they are, after all, merely a rocker bottom shoe). Could you explain your view on this further? What do you mean when you say 'they tend to put alot of stress on the 1st MPJ'?
Ian -
If the customer is not comfortable in an MBT/Ryn shoe for any reason, we may suggest a forefoot rocker shoe, such as Alegria. -
Yes, the reason is because of the convexity in two planes, you not only wobble posterior to anterior but also lateral to medial - therefore if you have a delayed toe-off you are suddenly thrown onto the medial border at accelerated speed which causes a sharp dorsiflexion of the hallux. In my own case, I have a pronated foot in stance but dynamically supinate before prior to TO - in my MBTs I am suddenly launched to the medial border resulting in stress from the straps on the dorsum and pain in my 1st MPJ (which has very limited dorsiflexion).
If they were simply a rocker posterior to anterior this would not cause so much problems I think. They definitely have a place in certain foot pathologies though.
Leah -
My experience with rocker sole shoes, such as the MBT, has been the same as yours. Hence my confusion regarding Leah's comments.
Ian -
If we notice customers that have difficulty controlling the medial/lateral instability of MBT/Skechers shoes, we immediately switch them to Ryns, usually with success. If not, there are other tools we can use. -
1. You can't have a sharp dorsiflexion in a hallux rigidus. On account of its rigidusnessness.
2. The sole unit of the shoe does not bend much / at all under the 1st met. Therefore any dorsiflexion which takes place must be inside the shoe lifting the toe off the sole and caused by extensor function which exceeds internal plantarflexion moments in the MPJ caused by the dorsiflexion of the 1st met in response to the sub talar pronation and the subsequent increased tension in the plantar apeurneurosis.
2b. I don't believe that such could possibly occur. The internal plantarflexion moment is vast, the dorsiflexion moment from the hallux extensors puny.
3. How do you know / why do you think this sudden dorsiflexion takes place? -
Hi Cam,
The point about the collapsing memory foam is an important one, you should see how the memory foam under my 1st MPJ and plantar phalangeal area has bottomed out on my MBTs. In my case I think the problem is sharp deviation from lateral border to medial, I can understand that a straight forward pronator is not going to have the same forces applied. I have to point out though that my MBTs are not the newly designed ones - ie the new MBTs have less convexity than the older models, maybe these don't have same problem.
Logic dictates that a rocker sole is good thing for hallux rigidus/limitus patients but to say that MBTs don't put any stress on the forefoot is definitely not my experience.
Leah -
Part of this deviation to the medial column is probably due to the design of MBT shoes. It is a rigid heel-to-toe rocker, with a semi-curved last. With this design, it is very difficult to supinate at toe-off. -
I don't have hallux rigidus, I was talking about my hallux and yes when I wear my MBTs (which I've stopped wearing after only about 6 outings) I have severe dorsal impingement pain at my 1st MPJ - ergo my hallux is dorsiflexing, ie it is being forced by the shoe (not extensor action). To serve this debate I have just put them on and gone for a walk in them - when I wear them my foot function completely alters. I am a natural supinator (as demonstrated by Footscan and my usual shoe wearmarks) but in my MBTs I pronate severely, even though I have only worn my MBTs about 6 times there are deep impressions where my hallux and 1st MPJs are (my MBTs are lined in newbuck and it is really obvious worn here). I've even managed to deform the sole (by the way, I have a normal BMI).
My opinion is that because of my forefoot instability, as I try to pronate from a supinated position, the convexity of the shoe (laterally to medially) forces my foot to pronate in an accelerated movement hence the increased force through my hallux. Whatever you say, the pain in real!
I am not knocking the shoe, I simply saying they are not for everyone and perhaps especially forefoot instability.
Leah -
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Yes. -
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Hi All
I am interested to know how an orthotic device functions in an MBT shoe as opposed to a shoe with a non-rocker bottom sole.
If a patient with orthoses who wears both MBT's and a `normal` shoe and switches the in-sole between these two shoe types is there a difference in the way the device functions?
Thanks in advance
Deborah -
Orthotics are meant to stabilize the foot. The MBT and Skechers shoes are unstable (in both sagittal & frontal/coronal planes). In my opinion, they cancel each other out. For my part , I prefer wearing rocker soles with better medial/lateral stability, such as Ryn when I wear rocker sole shoes with orthoses. -
However, in stance, the MBT forces you to make some choices. You can stand with your weight on your heel or on your forefoot, or you can try and balance on the rocker. If you choose to balance on the forefoot then your Achilles will have to have more tension to keep the weight on the forefoot. This will reduce pressure on the heel and you will lose the effect of a medial heel skive.
Cheers,
Eric -
I wonder. I'd love to see a dynamic in shoe pressure comparison. I would suspect that the forefoot would load faster but that peak pressure would be much lower.
Anyone got an in shoe VLS and a spare 5 minutes? -
Hello All the colleges here and the rest of the forums , I am not very good in english , but i think your question is , how is your experiences with the pacients .
I saw a few people with this shoes and not all are comfortable . i remember one of them had the Aquiles tendon damaged only with one week wearing the mbt , other had a plantar fascitis , other damaged peroneo astragalino anterior ligament...
i hope hold you -
Standing in an unstable shoe increases postural sway and muscle activity of selected smaller extrinsic foot muscles.
Landry SC, Nigg BM, Tecante KE.
Gait Posture. 2010 May 21. [Epub ahead of print]
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So, if postural sway reduced over the 6 month period, did muscle activity also decrease? When you sway you use muscles to bring your center of pressure under your center of mass.
Cheers,
Eric -
morning all
also what about the smaller intrinsic muscles, what effect (if any) do the rocker bottom shoes have on them. if the MBTs make the extrinsic muscles mentioned more powerful, stronger muscles, is this to the detriment of the important intrinsics?
cheers
JB -
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hiya
according to the results of above, "standing in the unstable shoe increased activity of the flexor digitorum longus". if the job of the lumbricals for instance is to
help to keep the toes from clawing from over-recruitment of the flexor digitorum longus, then would logic dictate that prolonged use of the MBTs will cause clawing of the digits?
cheers
JB -
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Also, the study implied that you might get stronger muscles, but it did not say that stronger muscles were found. The question is does normal walking/ activity use the muscles enough to maintain/ increase strength so that you don't need to add an additional workout from your shoes. If you think the shoes are comfortable wear them. If you want stronger muscles work out. You don't necessarily have to combine the two concepts.
Eric -
After reading some of the post about MBT's & if there any good or not, I've worn them but really only for striding, let me tell you It's a work out. Couldn't wear em all day though. Would you Pods recommend wearing them with your rigid orthotics ? Has there been a study on there use with orthotics? Would anyone know ? Cause when I got involved many years back, I was told they should not be worn with MBT's. I have since RE customised them to suit my personal gait and stride. Feels like I'm running when I'm not. It's to do with the downhill uphill motion... Anyways Keep on Smiling folks....
Shuru OUT. -
I got a 'free' pair for selling them at a retirement expo. My experiences mirror CamWhite's.
Very good for standing on hard surfaces. Hard to walk and run in. If your balance is not good, to be avoided. I too, discovered muscles I did not know existed. Carole
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