RE: Re: shoes & exercising

July 13, 2004

I think it's an individual thing myself. I can't go for a walk without a

good pair of shoes on because it gives me shin splints and lower back pain.

I have flat feet though and have to wear orthotics, unfortunately there are

very few shoes I can wear that will accommodate them. Most good running and

walking shoes have arch supports already in them that mess up my feet. I

love to go barefoot but it just causes me to much pain if I do it to much.

My doctor told me it's because I have to much range of motion in my ankles.

I can stand almost directly on my ankles with my feet turned inwards,

apparently that's not normal (LOL). So when I walk barefoot I have to much

range of motion which causes the muscles and tendons to be pulled to much.

Strange thing is that I can do Tae Kwon Do barefoot with no problems. I

bought martial arts shoes and tried to wear them (my orthotics fit just fine

in them) and I couldn't stand it! It was so strange not being able to feel

what I was kicking and to tell for certain that I hit a target properly. I

can do TKD for an hour everyday and never get shin splints or pain in my

back as long as I wear my arch supports the rest of the day.

My friend on the other hand has bone spurs in her feet and can't wear

anything but Birkenstocks. She doesn't own any other shoes and it's either

those or barefoot. I think Birkenstocks are horrible and they make the arch

of my foot feel like I'm being stabbed with a knife. She loves them and

say's it's the next best thing to being barefoot.

Kris

Re: Question of the day 7/13

The reason that ruined a lot of feet is because people were wearing shoes

all the time and then taking them off to exercise. Shoes actually cause the

muscles in your feet to atrophy or be underdeveloped. People who never wear

shoes or only wear them occasionally have very developed muscles in their

feet, so they can exercise barefoot without consequence.

Kind of like if you only excercise once a month is very dangerous. So if

you always wear shoes except to exercise then you will damage your feet.

This is not a problem for me because I rarely wear shoes.

Recommended Posts