WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23RD, 2010
9am / 10am / 2:30pm / 7:30pm
The shoes we wear not only cast the foot in a protective form, but also weaken our foot and leg muscles, leaving them underdeveloped and more prone to injury. The foot, like any other part of the body, needs to work to remain strong and maintain desired function. It is important to stimulate and exercise the foot in a more natural state on a regular basis. Stimulating muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception (proprioception is the body's ability to adapt to change...such as stepping on rocks or uneven surfaces). Wearing shoes with arch supports, orthotics, soft/squishy soles, heels, etc. places your feet in positions they don’t normally want to be in. These “aides” are simply a crutch that temporarily masks a problem. They are the easy way out and more frequently than not are only effective for a short period of time. Hence, why I wear a flat-soled shoe such as Converse All-Stars or a minimalist shoe such as the Vibram FiveFingers, that allow my foot to maneuver itself better than the typical "cross-training" shoes that most people wear now days that manipulate your foot into positions it doesn't naturally want to be in.
My theory on this is that they take an improper movement pattern that you have developed and transition that pattern over to another incorrect movement pattern that relieves the old pain but then causes a new one. Kind of like lightly tapping your finger in one spot on your head until it hurts in that spot and then moving the finger to another spot until that hurts. It takes a while for the new spot to begin to hurt and in the meantime the old spot will cease to hurt but you’ve not eliminated the tapping altogether, which should be the goal.
Furthermore, cushioned shoes teach us to run and even walk improperly placing all of our "landing/striking force" when running or walking in the heel of our foot instead of our toe. And, if you think (or anyone thinks) that it's good to run on your heels, there's some serious education that needs to take place with regard to physics and speed training as well as biomechanics and injury prevention. In short, if you "heel strike" you are stopping your momentum with every step and apply resistance or “backwards pressure” every time you take a step. It's like rolling a tire with your hands and putting a board in front of the tire every 3-4 feet. Do you think that tire is going to go as fast as possible with those boards there or do you think it would go faster if it had no resistance in front of it? This type of running (running on the heels) also promotes injury. Injuries that are largely preventable. Running on the heels causes a hyperextension of the back/driving knee and hamstring. This leads to a large number of knee injuries, hamstring strains, plantar fasciitis, etc.
Just look at the sport with the highest rate of injury. It’s the “non-contact” sport of running! Particularly cross country runners. Not only do they typically not train their bodies for anything except running (this leads to some serious movement flaws and injuries, save for another discussion) but they are hammering away at their feet and, essentially, their joints with every single step they take. And I can’t think of one of them (doesn’t mean that there aren’t any) that doesn’t log all of their miles in some sort of padded, possibly unnaturally forming shoe. In addition most of them run on their heels…they’re “heel-strikers”. Again, we’re not designed to move this way.
So what about people who NEED arch supports and orthotics? This is nothing more than great marketing that people have been told by medical professionals or "experts" who either don't understand how to get the foot functioning properly again or are making money off of selling people something they really don't need and is actually hindering them in the long-run (no pun intended). Arch supports and orthotics are merely a crutch that TEMPORARILY allow people to carry out tasks pain-free during their everyday activities. Wearing these aides will innevitably only worsen the condition of a persons foot causing a whole string of problems as age increases and function deteriorates.
So what makes me so sure? Because I've helped people and know other coaches who continue to "cure" people from having to wear orthotics and arch supports that they were told and believed they'd have to wear their whole lives. It isn't a pleasant process and there are several stages that someone with poor arches must go through to achieve aidless foot independence but it is achievable and exceptionally beneficial in the long run for those willing to do it. In other words, I've developed arches in people with flat arches. However, I will say that I don’t have this down to a science like some of the specialists I’ve met and worked with. Specialists whom people search out specifically to fix their foot problems and associated joint pains. I don’t believe I’ve ever had anyone come to me or realize that they came to me because they needed me to fix this problem, it simply occurs over time as a result of me teaching them how to move properly and gradually getting them into a flat-soled or minimalist shoe.
What about Pronation? This is where a gradual progression is critical. For some pronators (people whose feet tend to rotate inward during normal gait or flatten during full weight-bearing exercise) an immediate shift to a flat-soled shoe or minimalist shoe will most-likely be too much of an abrupt change in biomechanics. I always recommend what is called a micro progression into minimalist footwear. The "too-much-too-soon phenomenon" can be a problem for anyone’s foot. In the case of heavy pronators, flat-soled or minimalist shoes might not be a wise choice for weight-bearing activities. Pronators will definitely benefit from some focused rehabilitation and foot-specific exercises before wearing any minimalist footwear.
Here's a video clip that demonstrates the difference in lifting with cushioned shoes as opposed to flat-soled shoes. At the beginning of the clip they say that running shoes are great for running, standing in line, and walking. This is also wrong. Yes, racing flats are great for running and oftentimes everyday use but the more common cross-training shoes that we (people) typically wear put us at a disadvantage when it comes to taking care of our bodies...even when we're walking or standing in line.
References:
Vibram FiveFingers
Further Research Resources:
CrossFit Endurance
SportScience – Barefoot running
Inov-8
Coach Justin
PerformanceQuestFitness@gmail.com
My theory on this is that they take an improper movement pattern that you have developed and transition that pattern over to another incorrect movement pattern that relieves the old pain but then causes a new one. Kind of like lightly tapping your finger in one spot on your head until it hurts in that spot and then moving the finger to another spot until that hurts. It takes a while for the new spot to begin to hurt and in the meantime the old spot will cease to hurt but you’ve not eliminated the tapping altogether, which should be the goal.
Furthermore, cushioned shoes teach us to run and even walk improperly placing all of our "landing/striking force" when running or walking in the heel of our foot instead of our toe. And, if you think (or anyone thinks) that it's good to run on your heels, there's some serious education that needs to take place with regard to physics and speed training as well as biomechanics and injury prevention. In short, if you "heel strike" you are stopping your momentum with every step and apply resistance or “backwards pressure” every time you take a step. It's like rolling a tire with your hands and putting a board in front of the tire every 3-4 feet. Do you think that tire is going to go as fast as possible with those boards there or do you think it would go faster if it had no resistance in front of it? This type of running (running on the heels) also promotes injury. Injuries that are largely preventable. Running on the heels causes a hyperextension of the back/driving knee and hamstring. This leads to a large number of knee injuries, hamstring strains, plantar fasciitis, etc.
Just look at the sport with the highest rate of injury. It’s the “non-contact” sport of running! Particularly cross country runners. Not only do they typically not train their bodies for anything except running (this leads to some serious movement flaws and injuries, save for another discussion) but they are hammering away at their feet and, essentially, their joints with every single step they take. And I can’t think of one of them (doesn’t mean that there aren’t any) that doesn’t log all of their miles in some sort of padded, possibly unnaturally forming shoe. In addition most of them run on their heels…they’re “heel-strikers”. Again, we’re not designed to move this way.
So what about people who NEED arch supports and orthotics? This is nothing more than great marketing that people have been told by medical professionals or "experts" who either don't understand how to get the foot functioning properly again or are making money off of selling people something they really don't need and is actually hindering them in the long-run (no pun intended). Arch supports and orthotics are merely a crutch that TEMPORARILY allow people to carry out tasks pain-free during their everyday activities. Wearing these aides will innevitably only worsen the condition of a persons foot causing a whole string of problems as age increases and function deteriorates.
So what makes me so sure? Because I've helped people and know other coaches who continue to "cure" people from having to wear orthotics and arch supports that they were told and believed they'd have to wear their whole lives. It isn't a pleasant process and there are several stages that someone with poor arches must go through to achieve aidless foot independence but it is achievable and exceptionally beneficial in the long run for those willing to do it. In other words, I've developed arches in people with flat arches. However, I will say that I don’t have this down to a science like some of the specialists I’ve met and worked with. Specialists whom people search out specifically to fix their foot problems and associated joint pains. I don’t believe I’ve ever had anyone come to me or realize that they came to me because they needed me to fix this problem, it simply occurs over time as a result of me teaching them how to move properly and gradually getting them into a flat-soled or minimalist shoe.
What about Pronation? This is where a gradual progression is critical. For some pronators (people whose feet tend to rotate inward during normal gait or flatten during full weight-bearing exercise) an immediate shift to a flat-soled shoe or minimalist shoe will most-likely be too much of an abrupt change in biomechanics. I always recommend what is called a micro progression into minimalist footwear. The "too-much-too-soon phenomenon" can be a problem for anyone’s foot. In the case of heavy pronators, flat-soled or minimalist shoes might not be a wise choice for weight-bearing activities. Pronators will definitely benefit from some focused rehabilitation and foot-specific exercises before wearing any minimalist footwear.
Here's a video clip that demonstrates the difference in lifting with cushioned shoes as opposed to flat-soled shoes. At the beginning of the clip they say that running shoes are great for running, standing in line, and walking. This is also wrong. Yes, racing flats are great for running and oftentimes everyday use but the more common cross-training shoes that we (people) typically wear put us at a disadvantage when it comes to taking care of our bodies...even when we're walking or standing in line.
References:
Vibram FiveFingers
Further Research Resources:
CrossFit Endurance
SportScience – Barefoot running
Inov-8
Coach Justin
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