Barefoot running the positives.

Members do not see these Ads. Sign Up.

Over the last year there has been many threads discussing the negatives of barefoot running and as Craig calls it " the Church of barefoot running" missuse of research to make claims that barefoot running is better. There is also the rather silly evolution or being born barefoot claims.

Anyway, with all the silly fighting going on there is one thing that cannot be pushed to one side - for some barefoot running has helped, they can run again, they claim painfree. The problem from my point of view is that these people become a bit like a person who have given up the fags ( cigarettes).

Now the major Pink elephant in the room is the chance of stick injuries running barefoot - so for this discussion we can put this to one side.

So in our discussions we discuss the kinematics and kinetics of joints etcs and the effects of Ground reaction forces, Orthotic reaction forces on the body.

So what has taken the shoes off done it´s changed the forces acting on the body - like all things this will be positive to some and negative to others. What I would like to do is discuss the positives in what our understanding of mechanics of the foot and leg are at the moment.

anyone game ?- this is not saying barefoot,shod is better than the other,but when there maybe positives for some patients and what type of person this is and what would you look at to give advice.

 

Positive: You won't trip over your laces...

 

Very true I was also thinking about the fact that most forefoot strike when running barefoot which will adjust the results of GRF on the foot and knee which in some people may have positive results. I´m a forefoot striker so I load up my gasroc/soleus complex with my striking pattern, but shoes change the function of the foot, so is the longer lever arm of the shod foot causing more load or less in the case of a forefoot striker ?

Also the change in foot - surface interface will have changes in the CNS regulation of leg stiffness - which we have discussed in the leg stiffness threads.

 

Ok, I got one.

Let shod running be in style A.

Person has an injury, running in style A. Does not resolve style A.

Person starts barefoot running in style B. Style B is radically different from style A. Whatever the pathological force in style A, will have been changed, for better or worse. If worse, they won't stay at it long. If better they will.

Here is another.

Many people, when injured, do not allow sufficient rest to allow the foot to heal. Barefoot running the limiting factors change and may stop the person running sooner than otherwise, imposing a more gradual return to activity.