This morning that same area on my outer right foot still aches...not in a I worked out a muscle way, but in a I dropped something on my foot and it should be bruised way.
Could I have weak feet? There are many comments on barefoot running sites about shoes weakening our feet, but I wasn't 100% sold. I love high heels, in my mind that's a pretty serious foot workout! Based on that it's pretty clear I am not an expert in this area, so I started looking for some general info on the subject.
In this tennis article, the author and collegiate player, Kay Miranda, advises that shoes prevent the use of toes and smaller muscles in the foot that would normally be used for pivoting and balance, thereby weakening the overall foot.
Denver chiropractor, Glenn Hyman, supports the theory that shoes prevent us from using all our foot muscles and adds, "The high tech "solutions" to foot problems actually create weak feet that cry out constantly for support." He recommends some exercises to strengthen your arches here.
Katy Bowman, a biomechanist (body mechanics specialist), who writes the Aligned and Well blog, shows us a couple of exercises to strengthen our feet in the video below, and advises us on the dangers of high heels. Although not a barefoot running advocate, Katy is quoted on several websites as saying that shoes weaken our feet.
So there you have it, three non-barefoot running perspectives, an athlete, a chiropractor and a biomechanist who all agree the shoes weaken our feet and lend credence to the barefoot running community.
As for me, I skipped the run this a.m. and am staying off my feet as much as possible today. I will consider the treadmill later this afternoon. The flat surface should allow me to walk/run in a way that shouldn't inflame the sore area in my foot...I hope.
Could I have weak feet? There are many comments on barefoot running sites about shoes weakening our feet, but I wasn't 100% sold. I love high heels, in my mind that's a pretty serious foot workout! Based on that it's pretty clear I am not an expert in this area, so I started looking for some general info on the subject.
In this tennis article, the author and collegiate player, Kay Miranda, advises that shoes prevent the use of toes and smaller muscles in the foot that would normally be used for pivoting and balance, thereby weakening the overall foot.
Denver chiropractor, Glenn Hyman, supports the theory that shoes prevent us from using all our foot muscles and adds, "The high tech "solutions" to foot problems actually create weak feet that cry out constantly for support." He recommends some exercises to strengthen your arches here.
Katy Bowman, a biomechanist (body mechanics specialist), who writes the Aligned and Well blog, shows us a couple of exercises to strengthen our feet in the video below, and advises us on the dangers of high heels. Although not a barefoot running advocate, Katy is quoted on several websites as saying that shoes weaken our feet.
So there you have it, three non-barefoot running perspectives, an athlete, a chiropractor and a biomechanist who all agree the shoes weaken our feet and lend credence to the barefoot running community.
As for me, I skipped the run this a.m. and am staying off my feet as much as possible today. I will consider the treadmill later this afternoon. The flat surface should allow me to walk/run in a way that shouldn't inflame the sore area in my foot...I hope.
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