Why You Should Consider Wearing Barefoot Shoes (Minimalist Shoes)

[@YourWellnessNerd]

What has been your experience with barefoot shoes??

[@healthy-natural-10]

I am using the Hykes Pinnacle barefoot shoes and love them, best shoes I have ever owned.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

❤️❤️

[@davidrodgers6939]

Got into them a little over a year ago, hoping to fix my many problems. The foot soreness is easily overcome by breaking into them slowly. And I do feel they make my feet stronger. However, these days I feel that my barefoots are appropriate for some activities (like the gym, boxing, cleaning house, etc) but if I’m doing a lot of walking or standing (especially on concrete or pavement) I’m better off with more support. Even then, I think wide toe box shoes that aren’t quite barefoot (like Altras , for example) are a good thing. I also noticed that -at this time - much of the physiotherapist community has not all officially jumped onboard with barefoot shoes. Correct me if I’m wrong, of course. Thanks for all the great videos.

[@davidrodgers6939]

At least barefoot shoes have certainly made me think about all these movement issues a lot more.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

I hear you. It’s certainly not the singular focus by all Physios yet, but with time and better understanding I think we’ll all get to this point over the next 10-15 years!

[@AndrewG817]

My barefoot journey started with running shoes; running would always give me knee pain and I heard that landing on the ball of your foot rather than your heel could help. The guy at the store warned me to take it easy, but I ignored him and did my normal run. I couldn't walk for a few days after that lol, but overall I did see benefits over time. I eventually got into barefoot shoes for every day use after experiencing ankle and knee pain from basic movements like walking and squatting. Those shoes combined with exercises from Ben Patrick (kneesovertoesguy) genuinely transformed my life. I almost gave up on barefoot shoes at one point as they exposed an issue with my hip, leading me to be more flat footed than I should, but your video on posterior tibial tendinitis helped me through that. The only downside is the selection of shoes is much smaller. I used to love my Birkenstocks, but so far I haven't found a sandal that looks as nice and is flexible with no arch support. It does seem like there are more brands catching onto the trend though.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

I hear you mate, I’m hopeful that everyone will get to the stage where barefoot shoes are comfortable eventually. It helps that there are more dedicated brands bringing out better quality shoes as well!

[@crisbivolaru819]

There is a mod online where you remove the cork from the birkenstocks , reglue them and use them as barefoot sandals . Cheers!

[@ILoveWeightedPullups]

What are some that aren’t considered barefoot like Vivo but still good? My concern is that the longevity of barefoot shoes is questionable. My friend’s Primus shoes are already losing the heel. I like my On running shoes that give me toe space, but want something for the gym.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Technically it doesn’t matter if they are classified as barefoot or not. As long as they don’t have much of a heel, or arch support, are flexible and have a decent toe box. Barefoot brands are just easier to find these days!

[@ILoveWeightedPullups]

@@YourWellnessNerdThanks for the explanation 👍 I’m looking at the Nike Netcon 9

[@JanneRasanen2]

15 years on and off thanks to injuries. I came back to barefoot shoes last year after a break of 2 years and was almost a newbie. Foot muscle strength had deteriorated that fast plus I gained weight. So I worked on foot strength and bought winter barefoot shoes too to not break up walking. Snow and felt insole softened the foot landing and was easier on my leg injuries than my summer shoe on asphalt. So if you are overweight, have injuries and weak foot muscles it may be a good idea to walk on soft surfaces possibly with a soft insole too. Grass or snow are better training surfaces than asphalt and a thicker sole and insole than on barefoot socks or the thinnest barefoot shoes can reduce injury chances. Treading on the whole foot instead of landing on the heel helps in lessening pains. Do not buy barefoot shoes that are a lot longer than the longest toe because the front can stick to ground. Half a pinky more length in the shoe toebox than the longest toe should work for most. Almost a year of walking and 2 km is about the most I can walk without pains. It can take months to get adjusted to even a few hundred meters. Overdoing training bites back hard easily.

[@acheng398]

What about metatarsalgia? Do you have any exercises to get rid of ball of foot pain? I have it around my 2nd and 3rd toes, only on my right foot. I’ve been running for a year now, averaging 20-25 miles per week and haven’t been able to run for over 3 weeks now. Worried I won’t be able to run my half marathon in 2 months. I’ve had IT band syndrome and plantar fasciitis on my right side that has gone away with regular foam rolling but now I don’t know how to get rid of my metatarsalgia

[@DarlaAnne]

What are your thoughts about people with really high arches wearing barefoot shoes? My last foot doctor recommended against me even walking barefoot much but I feel like my structure in general was better before wearing a lot of arch support stuff.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

Hi Darla, technically barefoot shoes are really there just to mirror our own bare feet. The issue is that a lot of traditional footwear has the potential to rob us of a lot of mobility, strength, and function, which can make being barefoot or wearing barefoot shoes more uncomfortable. It’s hard to comment on anyone specifically with assessing them, but depending on the reason why somebody has high arches, whether it’s a genetic thing or a consequence of sub optimal function, then being barefoot or wearing barefoot shoes should still be a reasonable goal for everyone to feel comfortable experiencing at some point in the future.

[@DarlaAnne]

@@YourWellnessNerd Thanks for the reply. I don't think my arches were always this high. I have a feeling they were made higher by wearing so much suggested arch support over time. Is that possible to happen?

[@carnivoregal7237]

I’m wondering if my walking shoes heals r too high & making the front of my feet & big toes hurt like heck. Paid good money for Hoka & Brooks.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

You might be onto something CG!

[@marknott2084]

Serious question. Is there a reason for the constant editing cuts in these videos? Sometimes in between words within a sentence. It may well be a filming style or something, or KZbin charges for each tenth of a second of video length, but, my opinion only of course, it's distracting and jarring.

[@YourWellnessNerd]

I hear you, Mark, I’m just doing the best I can to present the information I think is relevant. I’m still a physiotherapist first and part-time KZbinr second. If you have seen any of my older videos, they used to be one take and probably a little long winded and less concise than is needed. I’m always happy to get feedback and continue to find the best way to present the information I think is relevant. Despite the cuts I really hope the information is helpful for you!