Outdoor Walking Exercise

Dos and Don’ts of Barefoot Walking

Learn how ditching your shoes can reduce pain and prevent future injuries
By Natalie Gingerich Mackenzie prevention
 

Set Your Feet Free

Dos and Don’ts of Barefoot Walking // woman walking barefoot on pavement © Corbis

Image: Corbis

For new walkers, like toddlers, feeling the ground beneath their feet is essential to learning to become mobile. It’s how they learn to coordinate the muscles from their legs to their toes to balance upright and get where they want to go, explains Marlene Reid, DPM, a podiatric surgeon in Naperville, IL. But since we all start shoving our feet into shoes by preschool, some experts believe we’re inhibiting the senses in our feet and causing the tiny muscles to weaken like an arm or leg that’s been in a cast. “Feet are sophisticated parts packed with bones, ligaments, and muscles that provide support through the arches,” says Amy Matthews, a movement analyst who teaches anatomy and kinesiology to yoga instructors as well as conducts workshops exclusively on the feet. “Shoes can make the feet passive and unconscious because they do all the work for us.”

Walk Off Three Times More Belly Fat!

While advocates for the barefoot running trend say this shoeless sport may help reduce injuries and enhance running efficiency, we found out that walkers can benefit from a shoeless practice as well. Passive feet may be to blame for aches and pains you feel in your knees, back, and even neck, explains Matthews. But you can benefit from barefoot training even if you don’t have aches and pains. Reconnecting with the tiny muscles and the senses in your feet can help you use your whole body more effectively, warding off future injuries. Here are some get-started tips for healthier walking from the ground up.

Are the shoes you're wearing affecting your health?

1 Comments
More From prevention
Keywords:
Related Content