The benefits of barefooten

Should we be wearing shoes?  My two year old granddaughter doesn’t think so and maybe you should reconsider it also.

The foot contains 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. The muscles in your foot like every other muscle in your body need to be worked to be kept healthy.  In this day of high-fashion footwear, experts are warning that shoes are making our feet and leg muscles lazy which is making us more prone to injuries.   In his book "Take Off Your Shoes and Walk", Doctor Simon J. Wikler D.S.C. claims that there is no record of foot troubles in ancient times comparable to modern foot ills.  Furthermore the introduction of the elevated heel and the pointed toe marked the beginning of modern foot disabilities. 

Doctor Wikler advocates that people that go barefoot have the following benefits:

• Well-shaped feet with smooth skin and straight toes, without corns, hammer toes, nodes, calluses at the wrong places.
• Beautiful legs due to a gentle and natural training of all muscles of the body via walking naturally.
• More ability to spread their toes
• Stronger muscles in their feet and legs
• Greater agility and balance than those who had never gone barefoot
• Greater flexibility in their leg muscles.
• Improved posture which may help reduce lower back pain
• Less chance of getting a nasty fungal infection 

But wait .... there is more!  Another benefit can be seen in improved circulatory function.  Walking barefoot is better than shoes in activating the host of muscles in your foot and legs, which in turn helps to pump blood back into your heart.  This muscle action prevents the pooling of blood in your feet and legs, thereby reducing the stress on the entire cardiovascular system and reducing blood pressure.

Have your ever wondered why it is so relaxing to walk without shoes?  Why are exercises geared toward strengthening the body and relaxing the mind (yoga, tai chi, martial arts) typically practiced barefoot?  Some attribute this to the life-force energy called Chi (also called Qi or Prana) that can only be absorbed through the soles of the feet.  Ground Chi is absorbed automatically and unconsciously when walking barefoot. 

People in Germany, Austria and Switzerland have established "barefoot parks" where they can walk along "paths of the senses" - with mud, logs, stone and moss underfoot - to receive what's known there as reflexzon massage. (http://www.barfusspark.info/en/park.htm)  Because the soles and tips of the toes contain over 200,000 nerve endings, one of the densest concentrations to be found anywhere on the body, reflexologists have long advocated walking on textured surfaces to stimulate so-called "acupoints" on the soles of the feet.  They claim that pressure applied to particular spots on the foot connects directly to corresponding organs and can enhance their function.

Running while barefooted is also considered to be good for you.  Consider the findings of Michael Warburton, a physical therapist in Australia who wrote in 2001 wrote that running barefoot decreases the likelihood of ankle sprains and chronic injuries, such as plantar fasciitis.  He claimed that wearing shoes actually increases the risk of sprains because they make runners unaware of the foot's position.  The Stanford track coach Vin Lananna was quoted as saying that, “I believe that athletes that have been training barefoot run faster and have fewer injuries. It’s just common sense.”

So do you want the experience of going barefoot but need a little padding? I first ran across this product while searching for humorous pictures, but the more I investigated, the more intrigued I became.  Vibram Five Fingers (https://www.vibramfivefingers.com/) markets a shoe that acts as a glove for your feet.  It has a vibram sole that provides traction and protects your feet, while giving you more of the barefoot benefits than traditional shoes.  Craig Dossantos (http://blog.craigdossantos.com/ - A Search for My Life) describes them as an “essentially a modern version of Mexican Huarache Sandal, which are used by the Tarahumara… a tribe known for their prowess at long distance running.” 

So go on ... take your shoes off and feel the joy of getting back to nature.  I am just not sure if my boss would approve. 

More references:

http://www.shoebusters.com/