When starting new exercise programs or athletic activities, one of the most common complaints is foot and ankle pain. The ankles and feet are clearly highly involved in all forms of walking, running, jumping, agility movements and lower body strength exercises. Like all tissues and joints of the body, the feet and ankles must slowly adapt in order to increase the intensity of activity they will be able to handle.
Often extra strength training and mobility exercises can be employed to help develop these structures more quickly. Many people have lost much of their ability to dorsiflex for instance, and in this case tib raises and calf and soleus stretches are an excellent way to rehabilitate the lost dorsiflexion and return the ankles and feet to normal function.
Yet in many cases this physical therapy approach doesn't seem to do much, and the injuries keep coming. Some of the more common problems I've seen include plantar fasciitis, calf strains, and achilles tendonitis. Or worse yet, stress fractures, ankle sprains and torn ligaments.
The cause of much of this seems to be our use of thick, highly cushioned shoes. Unlike the other joints and muscles of the body, the joints of the foot and ankle are nearly encased in a cast. And like all connective tissues and muscles in a cast, they begin to weaken and atrophy.
Some of the worst cases of injuries I see are from individuals who have become highly developed athletically and have increased the strength and force nearly every muscle and joint in the body can produce, except the feet and sometimes ankles. This can be a disastrous combination as eventually high forces are put into a very weak link in the biomechanical chain of the human body.
The fix is rather simple though. Some training done barefoot all the foot and ankle need to rehabilitate themselves back to a natural state of strength and ability. My first time hearing of this concept was nearly 20 years ago. I had noticed some pain in my feet and I was constantly rolling my ankles. One day I examined my feet and realized my arch was nearly flat. This was so strange to me because years before I had clearly had very high arches.
I decided, after hearing of barefoot training, that I would start by running though a local soccer field. It became quickly apparent that my feet were in no condition for this as they became terribly sore after the first day and I had to take a week off. When I went back the next week I decided to take it slower and I jogged slowly around the outer edge of the field, only racking up a mile or so a day, 3 days a week.
However, this time the progress was rapid. Within a month my arches looked normal and I felt a lot more spring in my step. I also stopped rolling my ankles and noticed a lot more agility and control in my feet and ankles.
What Changes when Exercising Barefoot?
The foot is an incredibly intricate structure, with 33 different joints each contributing to movement. Inside of a thick soled shoe the foot tends to operate in a more simple manner, not articulating all of it's joints and not utilizing it's potential.
Once out of the shoe, all of these joints are free to move and regain lost mobility and strength. This also requires the coordination of all of these joints, which is an ability that is also lost while wearing shoes.
The foot is filled with a number of nerves, and in a more natural setting without shoes the foot feels for the ground as it's landing from each new step. As it feels the surface and amount of impact, all of the many joints and muscles of the feet begin to slightly alter the movement to adjust as needed.
Watching video of barefoot running versus running in shoes, you will notice that the barefoot runners will land on the midfoot or ball of the foot first, in order to allow the arch of the foot and the muscles and tendons of the ankle to help shock absorb. With shoes the runners will strike with the heels because the thick soles with absorb much of the impact. This leads to problems down the road as each stride is longer than it should be and much of the impact not absorbed by the shoes must be absorbed by the knee and hip joints.
You will also notice that the toes splay out in order to create a wide base of support and reach out to feel the ground with each step. Whereas in a shoe the toes are dormant, simply being jammed together and unable to articulate any sort of motion.
Taking the feet out of shoes allows the foot and ankle to move and develop as they were designed, and in my experience, this quickly solves the majority of ankle and foot issues I've seen.
Where Barefoot can go Wrong
A word of caution, when first starting to train this way, it's important to take things slow in the beginning. The first time you take your shoes off the feet and ankles will not be working properly and you will be exposing them to forces and stressors that shoes have been handling for nearly your entire life.
I have seen horrendous injuries from people who became excited about this form of training and immediately took the shoes off and attempted a half marathon (I'm thinking of one over enthusiastic friend in particular). The results are often tendonitis, bruising and stress fractures but can all be avoided by introducing this type of training slowly and allowing your body the time it needs to adapt.
Also, it's important to be aware that while running barefoot in grass, dirt and sand is quite natural, we were not designed for running on concrete. It' almost never a good idea to run barefoot on concrete. However, there are excellent alternatives.
Minimalist Shoes
These are shoes in which the sole is flat, allowing you to maintain a normal walking pattern instead of having the thick sole of the heel strike the ground first. They also usually come with a very thin sole, allowing some extra shock absorption, but very little in comparison to most other shoes. The thin sole also allows you to feel the ground more as you walk on it.
Most of my shoes are minimalist shoes these days. I wear them to the gym, to work, out in public and if I'm on concrete. I still do some barefoot athletics, but typically only in grass. These shoes tend to be good middle ground between normal athletic shoes and barefoot training. Though, again I must caution that if you are new to these, give yourself time to adapt, as injuries are likely to occur in the beginning before the feet and ankle adapt.
There are many brands of minimalist shoes out there and many of the most popular brands have developed lines of shoes that are minimalist. You simply have to seek them out specifically. It's also worth knowing that almost all wrestling and boxing shoes are minimalist, as this allows you to use the muscles of the feet for quick movements and power generation. Some of my all-time favorite minimalist shoes are simply wrestling shoes.
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