THE Hot and Healthy's Blog

Back to basics: Running Barefoot

Once again we learn that our savvy technology is not as savvy as we thought.   “By landing on the front of the foot, barefoot runners have almost no impact collision, much less than most shod runners generate when they heel-strike.”  – Daniel E. Lieberman, professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University and co-author of a paper appearing in the journal Nature.  Modern shoes place a large amount of padding under the heel.  But landing on the heel impedes the foot’s natural motion.  This disables the arch and the leg from adequately absorbing the shock of landing.  Using modern sneakers, and landing on the heel sends shock though the heel and into the knees and hips.

But running barefoot on the street is nasty.  So companies, like Vibram and even Nike are shifting gears.  The new “barefoot” shoes are half the price and light as a feather.  It’s…

View original post 32 more words