Barefoot Living
Being barefoot isn’t evil. In fact, it can be great for our foot health.
Many people tend to mention that they like going barefoot. But, tend to have some hesitation when telling their Podiatrist.
Feet are quite complex. 33 joints, 26 muscles, over 100 ligament and tendon attachments, and approximately 200000 nerve endings - per foot! The reason for the complexity is they are our contact with the ground, and vital towards keeping us upright. Our feet need to absorb energy as we land on the ground, stabilise us (commonly on one foot) and help us push off and keep moving forward..
People tend to spend most of their time in shoes, due to work, sport/exercise and life’s activities. The main role of shoes is to protect the feet from hot, cold and sharp objects. They can also help with shock absorption, stability and general comfort.
When people ask about being barefoot, my response is always “I’d love for your feet to have the option to be barefoot as much as you’d like”.
Feet take a high amount of load from day to day. Standing time, steps of walking or running, change of direction with sports and activity (and the list goes on). Just like all parts of the human body, our feet have a certain capacity. Every tissue (muscle, tendon, bone, ligament, fascia) in the body has a certain capacity. If we apply a load that’s greater than the tissue’s capacity, there is a risk of pain or injury. This means, pending the load doesn’t exceed how much the feet can handle, you’ll generally function without any issues or pain.
Being barefoot more often does increase the load through the feet. But, this is the beauty in the human body - the application of load, can result in increased capacity. Resulting in stronger, more robust feet.
So not only can you increase the capacity of your feet by being barefoot, but I like to believe it can improve proprioception - the sense through which we perceive the position and movement of our body. It’s well known, the better our proprioception, the better our balance. Consistent shoe-use can result in changes to proprioception, due to our feet not being exposed to different temperatures, textures and loadings. Whilst I’m certainly not advocating for walking on hot concrete or broken glass. There can be benefit to feeling the ground under our feet, without shoes on.
If you’re looking to spend more time barefoot, keep in mind that too much too soon can cause issues. Everything I’ve spoken about above refers to barefoot living, not barefoot running! (That’s a story for another day). Take it slow, listen to your feet, and enjoy some time away from shoes.
Written by Podiatrist Tim Pargeter, from Foot & Ankle
