There is so much information about what we should or should not wear on our feet. Or should we wear anything at all? Let’s take a deep dive, feet first, and consider the options.
In my 30’s, I worked on a farm with a man who had not worn shoes for 10 years. He essentially developed hooves. His feet were thick and calloused, and he could walk over almost any surface, in almost any weather condition: rain, sleet, snow, and blistering heat. He had conditioned his feet over years, and endured bloody blisters and soreness to get those “natural” feet.
Most of us would not choose to tread this path, and most of us have had shoes on our feet almost our entire lives. Even baby pajamas come with footsies on them, which can impede a baby’s natural gait pattern. If you know a baby with footsies, encourage the parents to cut off those foot bottoms so the feet can experience true traction on the ground! This will help the strength and alignment of the ankles, knees and hips too.
As an occupational therapist, I recommend that my adult and pediatric clients have as much barefoot time as possible, on as many different surfaces as possible. If they are not yet able to walk barefoot, or if they live in central Texas, where there are lots of hard, sharp rocks on the land, then I suggest minimalist shoes with no heel. This means a shoe with a flexible bottom, and no wedge in the heel to raise up the back of the foot. This is the closest thing to barefoot, and allows the small muscles of the feet to activate during normal daily movements. When we wear stiff shoes, there are fewer opportunities for all those small foot bones and muscles to work. After being ignored for so long, many of them simply turn off. As you might imagine, this can cause other problems, including pain in the ankles, knees and hips. All those little muscles are necessary for the balance and well being of our bodies.
This way of thinking about the foot and the body makes sense to me. However, I had not considered the impact of hard surfaces like concrete and cement floors, and the effects of feet that already have collapsed arches or bunions.
I was recently introduced to the idea of a sensory based approach to our gait pattern that I had not considered. When we walk on concrete, our joints and muscles typically need to brace against the hardness of this surface. If we are barefoot, or in minimalist shoes, this hard surface can transfer all the way up to the knees and hips, and cause other problems elsewhere in the body, even if the feet start to feel better. Another way to understand this perspective is that in order to walk well, we need to be able to relax, and feel our feet! If we are constantly hitting a hard surface with our feet, somewhere in the body is going to stiffen up, and this is going to affect the joints and muscles. If we wear a more cushioned shoe, the foot can then provide lots of rich information all the way up through the joints and muscles, allowing the body to move through space with greater ease and relaxation.
So what’s a person to do? There are good reasons for both types of shoe wear and no two people will have the same types of requirements. I would recommend experimenting on yourself. Try on different shoes, and see how you feel.
There are some basics that are true for both barefoot style shoes, and more cushioned shoes.
First: no heel. A heel on a shoe elevates the back of the foot and over time, causes the calf muscle to shorten. This affects the tension in the hamstrings, and the positioning of the pelvis. As a result of the shortening of these leg muscles, the pelvis shifts to an anterior tilt, with the gluts sticking out and the lower back overly arched. Over time, this can cause a cascade of problems, not the least of which is pelvic floor issues! If you must wear an elevated heel, be sure to spend a LOT of time making up for it by stretching your calf muscles and hamstrings.
Second: wide toe box. It is very important that the toes can spread out when we walk and stand. Our feet were made to keep our body in balance and alignment. If we try to do this with all our toes compressed into the space of just a couple toes, that is going to cause some problems over time.
Feel free to email me with any questions: lonestarhealingarts@proton.me.
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Wishing you vibrant health and well being,
Elizabeth