Should I go barefoot?

By Stephen Katzenback, PT

I wanted to take this opportunity to talk to you all about the barefoot lifestyle and what that means to me and Cape concierge physical therapy. First a friendly disclaimer, there will be no feet pics or “only fans”links in this article.

My journey started around 2010 when barefoot running started to become trendy. “Born to run” by Chris McDougall, Vibram five fingers and Irene Davis from the national running Institute were all the rage and in the media. As a physical therapist, I was taught that things changed when my foot hit the ground, but was never taught “what if my foot was not in a shoe.” I was also an athlete and was told that I needed specific shoes for specific sports. I never trained barefoot. I ran with running shoes, wore cleats on the field and as soon as I took my cleats off, I put on my slides.

Could I do it differently?

Could there be a different mindset or a different approach to living a healthy daily life and promoting a healthy athletic lifestyle? I was never really a runner, but I wanted to add it to my wellness routine. Could I, a 30 something year-old male, start running barefoot for fun? I had to do my research. How do I start? Do I need to buy special shoes? What if I get hurt? These were all the questions that were running through my head.

So many questions.

I also got tons of questions from people who saw me running, walking and in the community.

Some of the questions people would ask were; isn’t the ground dirty?

It is, and my feet did get dirty.

What if I step on something?

You’d be surprised how little there is to step on when you’re out running.

Sure, there’s a pebble here in there and that rogue acorn that’s sends shivers up your spine, but there’s very little glass or other dangerous objects. And believe it or not we all run with our eyes open so I could avoid those obstacles. The skin on our feet, although very sensitive, is one of the thickest on our body. This means it was meant to interact with the ground and be resilient.

People also ask, doesn’t it hurt?

To be honest, it did sometimes. You have to be very careful on how quickly you advance.

If your feet hurt, you need to listen to your body. Maybe I needed to change surfaces or maybe I needed to scale back and put shoes on for a little bit further of the run.

Listening to the Experts

There are many experts out there who I leaned on to learn more. Irene Davis as I mentioned before, from the national running institute. Dr. Kelly and Juliet Starret hosts of the Ready State podcast and authors books pertaining to the subject. Dr. Emily Spiegel who is a podiatrist, author and who has a love for everything feet.

Is this barefoot thing for me?

OK, so maybe now you’re asking, is this barefoot thing good for me? Well, let’s talk a little bit more about it. First you need to be honest with yourself.

What are your goals?

Do you wanna be a barefoot runner?

Are you recovering from an injury?

Are you wanting to work on your balance and fall prevention?

Other aspects of barefoot lifestyle could be increasing your athletic performance, active aging, neurologic rehab, as well as introduction of footwear for children.

Our feet have 26 muscles!!!

We have 26 muscles in our feet and thousands of nerves. Each one of them providing input and feedback to our brain about what our foot is doing, where our foot is in space(proprioceptions), what we are stepping on(sensation), and how it relates to the rest of our body(kinesthetic response).

Our foot is our foundation and supports our knees, our hips, our pelvic floor, our diaphragm, our shoulders, and ultimately our brain.(Insert vestibular system for our dizzy friends). Our feet tell us if we are moving forward or backward, up or down, and they keep us safe. Our feet may be the first step to support neuroplastic changes as we recover from injury or illness.

Kelly Starret said something that had stuck in my mind, “our feet are the gateway to our brain”. Sounds funny, but it makes complete sense. So do I recommend that you or anyone you know adopt the barefoot lifestyle? Well, I’m gonna take the political answer to this and say maybe. Start slow, listen to your body, take your shoes off inside the house. Just because we take our shoes off doesn’t mean we can avoid the other systems in our body. Use it as a tool to help support our posture, our glute activation and our balance.

What do I wear on my feet?

So what should you put on your feet?

]Do you need minimal footwear?

Do you need CRAZY Jesus sandals or do you just go barefoot?

Start with ditching those shoes when you’re inside your house and take your socks off. Let your feet breathe and stretch. Introduce simple foot exercises, spreading your toes out, give your foot a little massage. Stretch your great toe. Grab a lacrosse ball or vibrating ball and rub it on the soul of your feet. Wake up those nerves. You should have full command of your toes individually, but I am willing to bet that they feel rigid and stuck. Pay attention to them!

Daily “toe yoga” will promote range of motion and dexterity. Foot strengthening is pointless without foot flexibility. We want a soft supple arch. One that can adapt to the surfaces we step on. But also a strong supportive arch that we can rely on when running or jumping or getting up from the floor.

You will need to be patient with this process. This is something that will build and get better overtime. It won’t happen overnight, but your feet didn’t get this way overnight either. Cape concierge physical therapy always has your health as our number one priority. If you have enjoyed this article, want to learn more and want us to help you along in the journey, please don’t hesitate to reach out and make an appointment.