Posted on 01/30/2010 8:35:53 AM PST by La Lydia
Biologist and runner Daniel Lieberman had a simple question: "How did people run without shoes?" The answer he got is: Much better. At least running barefoot seems better for the feet, producing far less impact stress compared to feet shod in fancy, expensive running shoes, according to a study by Lieberman in the journal Nature. The study concludes that people seem to be born to run — barefoot.
The research was funded in part by a company that makes running shoes that try to mimic barefoot running. But Lieberman, who disclosed the grant, said the company...didn't influence the outcome.
People who grew up running barefoot — such as boys in Kenya's Rift Valley, which is known for endurance running champs — tend to land mostly on the front or middle of the foot when they touch ground. And when these runners do use shoes, they continue to run in that way.
People who have always worn cushioned running shoes usually hit the ground heel first. The difference in the way the foot strikes the ground is important. Lieberman's study examined the physical stresses on feet with different types of running and found that people with running shoes strike the ground with the mass of the entire leg, nearly 7 percent of the body. That's more than three times the weight of impact for barefoot running.
"It's really about how you hit the ground," said Lieberman, who specializes in human evolutionary biology. "When you hit the ground, some of your body comes to a dead stop."
For runners in cushioned shoes, "it is literally like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer," Lieberman said. But, he said that "the way in which barefoot runners run is more or less collision free."...
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
..but bad for Niki/
..but bad for Niki/
I’ve also heard that in the past American Indians walked and ran with the front of their foot hitting first. I wouldn’t want to run barefoot EITHER way if it wasn’t on grass, sand or soil. Ouch!
So Kip Keino was right all those Olympics ago.
Ping!
I ran barefoot in high school in northern VA back in 70-71.
They changed the rule the week before the state indoor meet and I had to wear shoes. Fell down in the first turn but got up and finished 3rd in the heat. The first two advanced to the finals.
Shoes suck and so do socks.
It doesn’t hurt the agenda expensive running shoes are made in sweat shops, etc., etc., etc.
I used to go barefoot all the time until the week I stepped on two bees.
But the consequences of NOT wearing shoes are pretty awful. Even if you don't step on a nail or broken glass.
There was an old proverb in Scots Gaelic - "Cuspach, 'us gag, 'us eill-bhuinn, 's mairg an spag air am beireadh iad." - "Kibe and crack and burning heel, pity the foot they come on."
These are conditions only found in folks who go barefoot. And they are extremely painful and debilitating. Another proverb says: "The pain of the heel, the loss of an only son."
When I'm hiking over hill and dale, I walk flat footed...much more stable...
My grandson is flat footed...he can do some amazing leaps and bounds and never misses a beat. He gives me a heart attack!!
Wait for the upcoming “NO SNEAKERS” law.
When I was a kid ... OK, that was awhile ago, I always elected to run barefoot when I had a footrace that I really wanted to win. I just knew that I ran faster when barefoot. So now I consider it a universal truth that you can run faster without shoes than with them. Shedding clothes helps as well.
Yeah, and we all should live in caves too.
At a tracking class I was told that walking heels-first was hard on the body, so I learned to walk toes-first. (Well, actually its the ball of the foot, not really the toes, but I didn’t want to say balls-first.) If you’re not used to it, it works your calf muscles like you wouldn’t believe, but once you get past that phase it does feel easier on the joints.
It did annoy my physical therapist, though. She thought heel-first should be the only way to walk.
I also found that method uses a lot less energy when running. I have asthma, and was only able to run about 20 feet before needing an inhaler. After I learned to run toes-first I was able to go 10 times farther without trouble. Still seems pathetic compared to some, but at that point I hadn’t been able to run for almost 20 years, so I was just happy not to be wheezing!
I was girls’ 50 yard dash champion of my grade school in 69 and 70. The boys had a run-off with me (Incentive you know. Can’t let a girl beat you!) to see who would be boys’ champion. One of them was able to beat me (just barely;-) by running barefoot.
PS: I wear those water shoes with the really thin, flexible soles. They allow the foot to move freely, but still protect against cut and scrapes. And they’re only about $5 a pair usually.
Swim instead and it isn’t an issue. ;-)
moccasins?
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