[Revok]

Last year, researchers at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa, published a study titled “Shod Versus Unshod: The Emergence of Forefoot Pathology in Modern Humans?” in the podiatry journal The Foot. The study examined 180 modern humans from three different population groups (Sotho, Zulu, and European), comparing their feet to one another’s, as well as to the feet of 2,000-year-old skeletons. The researchers concluded that, prior to the invention of shoes, people had healthier feet.

Among the modern subjects, the Zulu population, which often goes barefoot, had the healthiest feet while the Europeans—i.e., the habitual shoe-wearers—had the unhealthiest. One of the lead researchers, Dr. Bernhard Zipfel, when commenting on his findings, lamented that the American Podiatric Medical Association does not “actively encourage outdoor barefoot walking for healthy individuals. This flies in the face of the increasing scientific evidence, including our study, that most of the commercially available footwear is not good for the feet.”


http://nymag.com/health/features/46213/

Interesting article about the detrimental effects shoe-wearing has on our bodies. Think I might pick up some of those crazy Five Fingers sock-shoes.

[MikeMartial]

Originally Posted by Revok

Interesting article about the detrimental effects shoe-wearing has on our bodies. Think I might pick up some of those crazy Five Fingers sock-shoes.

Seems to be a lot of coverage about this lately; Drs Dugas and Tucker have a related 3-part article that can be found here, at The Science Of Sport. Wordy, but worth it.

I've been eye-balling those Vibram five fingers...

[Ian Coe]

They do look funky I must admit

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/bar...ot_running.cfm


I have never heard of them before though

[Monger]

Nice articles guys. I've been hearing a lot about this topic lately. A lot of S & C coaches seem to be commenting on it as well.

[ronin0352]

Yeah, thanks revok. I used to make fun of my g/f's toe socks, now I'm looking at toe shoes. If I buy a pair of those she'll never let me live it down.

[Monger]

Originally Posted by Ian Coe

They do look funky I must admit

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/bar...ot_running.cfm


I have never heard of them before though

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/pro...cts_sprint.cfm

SPRINT IS BEST FOR: Light Trekking, Climbing, Canyoneering, Running, Fitness Training, Martial Arts, Yoga, Pilates, Sailing, Boating, Kayaking, Canoeing, Surfing, Flats Fishing, Travel

Ironically, they don't seem to recommend sprinting for the Five Fingers Sprint.

I agree with the author in the link Mike posted when he said...

But, a word of caution here. If you're a runner who has been pounding the pavement for 20 years in a pair of shoes, suddenly switching to barefoot (assuming you can run barefoot - I would never consider it on the tarred roads of Cape Town) may be a risky move for you. Because the change in biomechanics and loading of joints, muscles and tendons threatens injury if you're not careful. So in the article, you'll see advice to run barefoot - what you may miss is the proviso that you start with "small doses", which is really important - be careful about over-compensating and injuring yourself on the other side!

That's something to really keep in mind. Just don't make drastic changes if you're an avid runner or that could also mess you up.

[Revok]

Apparently there are some drawbacks to the Five fingers - the stitching is not tremendously tough and they can be uncomfortable if, like me, your second toe is longer than your big toe. Knowing this I'm not sure I'll be dropping £70 on an online order, at least not anywhere without a free returns policy.

How about ninja tabi?

[Ian Coe]

Originally Posted by Monger

http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/pro...cts_sprint.cfm



Ironically, they don't seem to recommend sprinting for the Five Fingers Sprint.

I agree with the author in the link Mike posted when he said...



That's something to really keep in mind. Just don't make drastic changes if you're an avid runner or that could also mess you up.

I was thinking that about the 'sprint' shoes lol

I was also thinking I wouldn't wear them to run on tarmac/the road. I'd be too weary of getting a injury (the body wasn't designed to run in shoes, but it also wasn't designed to run on tarmac with no give).

[SnowMongoose]

I've been wanting to get my hands (er, feet) on some Nike frees since they came out...
same concept of minimal footwear, and allowing the foot to move naturally, but much more visually palatable than these 'fivefingers,' which are about as aesthetically pleasing as crocs.

[liquid!]

Find some grass and do your sprints barefoot (ie: track infield).

Those shoes are interesting, but they remind me of