A SENSIBLE running shoe / trainer...?
Many of you will look at the picture below and consider that to be a perfectly sensible running shoe / trainer, but is it?
Let's look a little closer at what we can see...
Heel-Toe drop Elevates the rear foot, putting the ankle at an unnatural angle, increasing pressure on the forefoot and destabilising the natural "foot tripod" (heel -> ball under big toe -> ball under little toe) which gives us an even balance & foundation
Toe Rocker Elevates the big toe into a permanent dorsi-flexed (upwards) position, limiting movement at the joint and increasing tension on the plantar fascia which could lead to dysfunction and tightness in the plantar fascia and upwards through the posterior kinetic chain
Cushioned Sole Dampens sensitivity to ground reaction forces / vibrations which are absorbed by the body to use as potential energy. The feet are covered in mechanoceptors that are sensitive to vibration, skin stretch and texture to allow us to feel and REACT TO the ground beneath our feet... the more cushioning, the less we can feel the ground below us. We can become desensitised from our feet and slow to react to our environment.
(Also not mentioned in the pictures - this shoe has quite a stiff sole, inhibiting normal movement of the foot and limiting surface contact & balance. Imagine standing on a rock or stone... barefoot your foot would flex and mould around that rock/stone for maximum surface area grip. In stiff soled shoes, you would be almost balancing on top of the uneven surface as your feet are unable to mould to the surface below)
Stiff Heel Counter Limits movement of the subtalar joint in the rearfoot, inhibiting pronation/supination eversion/inversion - movements that are important to create both a "locked" stable foot and to "unlock" the foot for absorption of impact forces
There may be times when certain features are necessary in a shoe - for example if you had limited movement of the big toe joint caused by a structural issue (i.e cannot be addressed through corrective exercise / treatment) then a Toe Rocker may help with your gait and allow you to roll off through the big toe which may not be possible when barefoot.
However for most of us with feet functioning in a relatively "normal" way... these features simply serve to disassociate us from our feet, desensitise the feet and weaken the feet & ankles.
Research has shown that simply switching to 'barefoot' / 'minimal' shoe styles can increase the strength of the feet by up to 60%!!!!
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