Each of our feet has 26 bones, 33 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments. These moving parts in our feet need to be worked to keep them healthy. Experts believe the shoes we wear are not only reshaping but weakening our foot and leg muscles, leaving them lazy, underdeveloped and more prone to injury. Add to this the fact that our walking environment has changed so much over the last 100 years - we have flattened everything from roads to pavements – and the result is lazy, under stimulated feet.
Issues with Wearing Traditional Training Shoes
Heel/Achilles Support
·Allows runner to heel-strike without the benefits of accurate sensory feedback, leading to poor biomechanics.
Raised Heel
·Shortening of Achilles tendon and hamstrings.
Cushioning System
·Encourages heel-striking, especially downhill which can lead to shin splints.
·Only the bigger muscles in the foot and leg are used.
·Smaller muscles used when adjusting to changing terrain are switched off.
·This leads to greater muscle fatigue, reduces venous return and increases the chances of repetitive use injuries.
Arch Support
·A weaker, longer planter fascia causes the arch to flatten.
Pronation Control
·Addresses the symptom but not the cause. Alters foot, knee, hip and spinal alignment during stride and may increase the risk of injury.
Superior Comfort
·Decreased sensory feedback, disconnection from environment.
Why Train Barefoot? Whether training for strength, endurance or speed, all our movement originates from our centre. Training barefoot keeps you aware and focused on your shifting centre, increasing gluteal and core activation and working the smaller muscles in your feet and legs. Postural alignment, balance, bio-mechanics and weight distribution are all altered unnaturally by wearing shoes. More Performance, Less Injury “Athletes that train barefoot run faster and have fewer injuries. It’s common sense” Vin Lananna, legendary track coach.
Vin uses barefoot sessions on grass to build foot/ankle strength, improve range of motion and increase awareness of foot positioning. Michael Warburton, an Australian physical therapist, wrote that running barefoot decreases the chance of ankle sprains and foot injuries such as plantar fasciitis.
Shoes do a good job of protecting from the elements, but over time they desensitize the tiny sensors in your feet that tell them how to react to the terrain. Eventually our feet grow lazy and weak, triggering a chain reaction up the entire leg that can lead to shin splints, runner’s knee, and iliotibial band strains. Cushioned running-shoe heels add to the problem by shortening calf muscles and the Achilles tendon. Going Barefoot in FiveFingers
We recommend wearing FiveFingers for exercise, for play, and for fun. Stimulating muscles in your feet and lower legs will not only make you stronger and healthier, it improves your balance, agility and proprioception.
You were born barefoot. FiveFingers encourages you to walk that way.
Four Styles
FiveFingers are currently available in a range of four different styles, each one engineered for a wide spectrum of activities. They have been tried and tested for everything from running to rock climbing, windsurfing to weight training and waterskiing to kayaking.
