Barefoot shoes: disarmament in footwear

Anna also likes to wear barefoot shoes now. Image: K/Vegpool

Until recently, I wore heavily cushioned sports shoes in everyday life. I could never have imagined that I would regularly walk around in barefoot shoes (like an old hippie with a bell around his head). And still, that's the way it is.

Because it is supposed to be so healthy, I had tried barefoot shoes before out of curiosity. At the time, however, I was disappointed.

I found them totally uncomfortable and got headaches when I walked on hard asphalt. I felt like my wheels had been unscrewed.

I tried it again later for the following reasons:

When bouncing on the balls of your feet and walking barefoot was recommended as an exercise to strengthen the arch of my foot, I had to think back to my barefoot shoes, which were already somewhere in the closet.

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And then I wanted to try it out: might barefoot shoes really help? Can you get used to walking barefoot?

(Anna put on her new barefoot shoes for the pictures. The shoes shown are vegan and were made available to us by the manufacturer Groundies without any conditions).

Barefoot shoes have a very thin sole. Image: K/Vegpool

Barefoot shoes are shoes with a very thin sole and hardly any difference in height between the heel and forefoot ("drop").

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Instead of cushioning and stabilizing the foot, barefoot shoes only offer protection against dirt, sharp stones and moisture. It walks in them like in sturdy socks with rubber soles.

Some barefoot shoes also look like this. But those who value fashionable shoes have long since found what they are looking for in barefoot shoes. There are even barefoot boots.

Barefoot shoes: The gait changes

The difference becomes more obvious when walking.

Instead of stepping on the heel, I intuitively started stepping on the ball of my foot after a short time. This way, the hard ground can be cushioned much better and the headaches that I remember from my first attempt don't happen.

My mistake back then was that I wanted to go the way we did before. So heel first. I was missing the information that walking barefoot not only means "walking without shoes", but also "walking differently".

Since barefoot shoes have no heels, the heel itself is hardly ever loaded. In everyday life (on hard ground) walking takes place almost exclusively via the forefoot, in the so-called ball gait or forefoot gait.

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Of course, this means that the body is stressed differently than before. In the first few days I got to know completely new muscles in my legs and bottom.

Walking on hard ground automatically becomes softer thanks to the ball of foot movement. The steps get a little smaller. You can watch it on Youtube.

Barefoot shoes train the muscles of the feet and legs. Image: K/Vegpool

However, as soon as the ground softens, I find myself going back to heel walking without even thinking about it. One theory is that walking on soft ground is the more energy-efficient way to walk.

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That's probably why manufacturers started adding heel lift and cushioning to their shoes in the first place, so we can heel-toe on hard ground.

Barefoot shoes promote and train the muscles

In the long run, however, the relief in modern shoes can also promote malpositions because the foot muscles are not trained enough. And so other manufacturers have established themselves who have specialized in the disarmament of shoes.

Vegan barefoot shoes are available from the following manufacturers, among others (vegan according to the material label on the shoe):

By the way, after about 6 months of walking barefoot, my knee pain has almost completely disappeared.

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I now wear barefoot shoes when I'm out and about. I notice that it is good for me and I have less pain. However, for me it is not a religion. Nothing I need to tease all my friends about.

But: If you sometimes have knee pain or one of the classic foot deformities, try walking barefoot for a few weeks. With or without shoes.

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Author: Kilian DreizigPublication:

4.9/5 stars (43 votes)

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Discuss with: Barefoot shoes - what are they good for? (7 replies) Last post: May 16, 2021, 9:58 p.m

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