Like Barefoot, Only Better?

Like Barefoot, Only Better?



By Caitlin McCarthy, M.S., John P. Porcari, Ph.D., Tom Kernozek, Ph.D., John Willson, Ph.D., and Carl Foster, Ph.D., with Mark Anders

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Download and print the ACE Vibram Shoe Study (PDF 1.1 MB)

Barefoot-style and minimalist shoes are one of the hottest trends to sweep the footwear category since Nike Waffle Trainer running shoes and Crocs. In fact, according to OIA Vantage Point and Leisure Trends, these types of shoes have continued to enjoy double-digit sales growth since the start of 2010 and have outsold nearly every other type of shoe during that time.
One of the shoes that has led the surge in popularity is the Vibram FiveFingers, a quirky-looking sock-style shoe with separate compartments for each toe. These shoes are designed to combine the feel of being barefoot with the abrasion protection of wearing a shoe. Many adherents also believe these shoes improve proprioception, balance and foot strength. You’ve no doubt seen people wearing these types of shoes to work out in the gym, for fitness walking, yoga, water sports and, one of the most controversial uses, running.

Don’t Want to Run?
Try Lifting…

ACE Exercise Physiologist Pete McCall recommends trying Vibrams or similar style footwear while strength training. “They allow the foot to have better contact with the ground,” he says. “Having your heel elevated, like in a running shoe or other kind of training shoe, can actually throw off your balance.” Besides better balance, McCall says he’s experienced improved foot dexterity after a few years of strength training while wearing Vibrams.

But why would someone want to run without running shoes? Lower-extremity injuries can be found in 20 percent to nearly 80 percent of all those who run, with some experts pointing to the high-impact forces of heels hitting the pavement and the use of over-cushioned, overly supportive running shoes as potential culprits. To that end, a small niche of runners have shunned shoes altogether as a way to escape chronic pain and injuries.
Here’s their logic: Barefoot runners tend to run more lightly, landing near the balls of their feet while generating less pounding than regular heel strike-style runners. Less pounding should then equal fewer injuries. And that notion seems to be catching on even more quickly with the advent of barefoot-style shoes, which make running “barefoot” more comfortable and more appealing to some runners.
Here’s the potential concern, though—most runners have spent a lifetime wearing shoes and have thus been ‘programmed’ to run in the conventional heel-strike manner. So what happens when they switch to running in barefoot shoes? It’s an intriguing question, and one that the experts at the American Council on Exercise (ACE) sought to answer.