What do barefoot shoes do

The first question seems to be why should anyone want to change from the normality of cushioned shoes to shoes with no cushioning?

Choosing to do something different always comes with an innate risk so the outcome needs to be worth it. Our feet are incredibly densely innervated, this means there are lots and lots of nerves in our feet. Wherever the body packs in nerves is often an important area, our tongues, our hands, our genitals, our faces and our feet all are very sensitive to touch.

Touch goes from the skin and associated areas to the brain, the brain is then able to create a constant detailed living map of our bodies, this map enables us to make decisions about movement that can be very important. The better the detail in our brain map the better we can accurately and quickly respond to our environment. In laymans this can be one deffiniton of the word proprioception.

Proprioception is our body knowing what each of the joints muscles and bones is doing at every single second of every day.

So the more in touch we are with our environment the more able we are to make split second decisions that can have huge consequences. Take for example someone who has great balance, great proprioception and is highly in touch with their body, as they step down a curb they slip and quickly make the adjustment to correct this slip before they injure themselves. Take patient two, poor balance, feet in shoes from a very early age and a lack of proprioception, they experience the same environmental factor, a slip, however they are unable to make a quick adjustment and thus fall fracturing their ankle.

The same situation but two very different outcomes which are mediated by the persons ability to make quick adaptations using the nervous system. Not only is the nervous system used to make snap adjustments when unpredicted things happen, it is also monitoring and balancing muscle tone to adapt to the task at hand. Take for example, king Arthur pulling the sword excalibur out of the stone, the sword only looks mildly lodged in the rocks, so he uses what he thinks is the right amount of muscle power to pull.

Nothing happens. He pulls more, and more and more, still no movement. The graded progressive power he is using is the nervous system first underestimating the task, then recruiting more and more power to a task it assumed was easy. If our nervous system used the MAXIMUM amount of power for every task we would be perpetually exhausted and continuously breaking things.

The better in touch we are with out environment, the better the ability to recruit the correct amount of muscle activity and protect us from injury and overuse. When running in cushioned shoes our portal to the environment is cut off, the delicate process of modulating the muscular activity on each step is affected.

These heavily cushioned shoes also often have a toe box that is too small, this inhibits our toes ability to spread out with each step. The ability of the toes to spread out in normal gait is incredibly important as there are small muscles in-between our toes, as our toes spread these muscles send signals to our brain that causes a reflex contraction in our quadricep thigh muscles.

Learn more. The best barefoot footwear out there is … your bare feet. There is no need to run out and spend money on any of these shoes. Instead, start by walking around barefoot. This may be easier said than done; if you live in a major US city, don't stroll the sidewalks barefoot. See if a nearby park has some small stretch of grass you can explore barefoot. Don't walk far—10 paces is enough—but as you walk, pay attention to your feet. Focus on how much of your foot is actually in contact with the ground.

If you're like most people, this can be a mind-blowing experience. Now put your shoes on and go home. If you wake up the next day feeling fine, go do it again for a little longer. Keep slowly expanding your distance until you can comfortably walk a mile barefoot. Once you've got that down, you're ready to go all-in on some shoes. I love these shoes. They are the only shoes that have ever inspired me to write 1, words. They are really that good. Think of these as the barefoot answer to Chacos.

Except where Chacos are like putting tractors on your feet, the Z-Trails still flex and bend as you walk, giving your feet the freedom of movement you expect from a barefoot shoe.

Despite being sandals, these have 10 millimeters of cushion, which is more padding than most of the shoes you see here. That makes the Z-Trail a good option for newcomers. WIRED readers have also reached out to tell me how much they love Luna sandals , which I plan to test for the next update.

The Vapor Glove 3 was the first barefoot shoe I ever tried. They're still fairly shoe-like, with a wide toe box and tight heel cup. But they have zero drop the heel is the same height as the forefoot and minimal padding, putting them firmly in the barefoot shoe camp. It's a solid, comfortable shoe that will fit a wide range of feet. My only problem is that Merrell feels the need to update the Vapor Glove constantly. Those of us wearing them don't like change.

That's not to say there's anything wrong with the Vapor Glove 5 I haven't tried it yet , but it is a warning that if this version is your favorite shoe ever, you might want to buy a few pairs.

The Vapor Glove 6 will inevitably be slightly different. You'll use those pairs if you like them. The one thing I don't like about these shoes is that they only last me about six months I run about miles a day. I got quite a few emails suggesting I try these, and I'm glad I did, because the Tangas are my new favorite around-the-house shoes. The single-piece mesh upper is made of recycled coffee grounds, so they lean on the positive side of the sliding scale that is environmental friendliness.

They're also very comfortable, and the mesh fabric is nicely breathable for warm days. The Tangas sport a thicker 6. This makes them a good way to start your barefoot journey, as you can reduce the amount of padding as you go. We realize that our feet have everything they need to propel us forward, and the reality of being as close to barefoot as possible makes sense.

Making barefoot or minimalist shoes is the answer; to reconnect with our natural sense of motion. With all the products available on the market, it seems that we need, or think we need, a specific outfit for every activity we do, including shoes.

Until about ten years ago, I thought the same. I was convinced I needed a pair of shoes for running, another pair of shoes for hiking, another pair of shoes for training, and the list goes on. Things started to change when I experienced some serious back pain.

What I really wanted to know is what caused this back pain. I started to do some research and I learned a lot about the problems that can be caused by unhappy feet to the rest of the body.

And sure thing, the shoes and boots I wore back then were not barefoot shoes. They all had a heel, some cushioning, an arch support, and many other gimmicks. When our feet are squeezed in tight shoes it can cause many issues such as bunions, hammertoes and, over time, flattened arches.

The latter is compensated by high arch support in a lot of shoes - which makes the problem even worse. After learning more about minimalist barefoot shoes , or zero-drop barefoot shoes, I decided to give them a try. It required some adaptations to get used to them. For the first few months, my calves were sore, and I had to stretch a lot. But after a while, something unexpected happened. I realized that my feet had become stronger and more responsive. And, more importantly, I started to trust my feet.