“…forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair.”
-Kahlil Gibran, On Clothes
In 2009, PM&R, the official scientific journal of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, published the article “The Effect of Running Shoes on Lower Extremity Joint Torques” by D. Casey Kerrigan, MD, et al. 68 runners were observed and analyzed in a 3D motion analysis lab, running on an instrumented treadmill. The goal was to compare external joint torques at the hip, knee, and ankle associated with running in typical running shoes and running barefoot.
“Results: Increased joint torques at the hip, knee, and ankle were observed with running shoes compared with running barefoot.”
These results contradicted everything in conventional running shoe wisdom! Running shoes are supposed to help your body, not increase the forces on your joints, right in the same places prone to osteoarthritis. An obvious personal conclusion would be that shoes are bad! Shoes are unnatural! We should all be running barefoot like our prehistoric ancestors!
We understand the impulse, but please don’t throw away all your shoes just yet. Here are some pros, cons, and things to look for, to start to answer the question: Are Shoes Bad for Your Feet?
Pros to Wearing Shoes
–Avoid stepping on a dirty nail and getting tetanus. The world can be a dangerous place for bare feet. Broken glass, dog poop, motor oil, and who knows what else on the street can all be avoided by wearing shoes with a sole. One study found 96% of the shoes they looked at had bacteria indicating “frequent contact with fecal material.” Yuck!
–Keep your feet warm when it’s cold out. At any temperature at or below freezing, exposed feet are susceptible to frostbite, which can cause nerve damage, infection, gangrene, or even amputation. Above freezing, not properly dressing your feet for the weather can still cause damaging conditions like trench foot, chilblains, or hypothermia. Wearing warm socks and shoes with a sole keeps your feet out of contact with the cold ground, making it easier for your whole body to stay warm.
–Protect your feet when it’s too hot. Increasingly, with rising temperatures, roads and sidewalks can be hot enough to cause burns. Asphalt, especially because of it’s dark color, absorbs a lot of heat, which can make it 40-60 degrees hotter than the ambient temperature. Going bare foot can risk first or second degree burns, even when it doesn’t seem too hot out.
–Style! It might seem silly compared to all the protective aspects of wearing shoes, but the right pair of shoes can make or break an outfit. Shoes can be an important part of portraying yourself to the world, looking professional, dressing respectfully, or expressing yourself. (Check out our 3D printed flatforms if you want something really fun!)
Cons to wearing Shoes
The cons to wearing shoes are the same things we talk about all the time here at OESH.
–Narrow toe boxes can cause bunions, deformity, nerve damage.
–Excessive arch support and contouring can increase the forces on your knees. See “The Influence of Arch Supports on Knee Torques Relevant to Knee Osteoarthritis.”
–High heels or any heel height greater than zero can increase the forces in your knees and hips. See “Knee osteoarthritis and high-heeled shoes.”
–High carbon footprint in manufacturing (We try our best to avoid this; you can learn more about our sustainability efforts here)
What to look for
I won’t begrudge you a bare foot walk on the beach or stretching your toes out in the grass, but all in all, it does seem like shoes are your best bet when it comes to walking or running outside. Here are some of the things we think you should look for when choosing a healthy pair of shoes, all of which come standard in every pair of OESH shoes.
–A Good fit. Not squeezing your toes, comfortably staying on without clenching your foot, and not causing you to trip due to extra material at the toe.
–Zero drop, flat from toe to heel.
–Flat footbed, no arch support or cradle, just flat in every direction.
Bonus: Springy sole!
Learn more about what to look for in a healthy pair of shoes here on the OESH blog.
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