The first study was done in 2010 and was led by Harvard professor of human biology Daniel Lieberman and was published in the journal Nature. This study suggests that runners who don't wear shoes have a significantly different foot strike that minimizes structural impact compared to those who wear shoes. Lieberman, et al., analyzed the running styles of adult U.S. athletes who had always worn shoes; adult U.S. runners who had grown up wearing shoes, but now run barefoot; Kenyan athletes who had never worn shoes; and Kenyan athletes who had grown up running barefoot, but had switched to running with shoes. They found that the barefoot runners tended to point their toes when landing, putting the impact at the middle or front of the foot instead of on the heel and making the runners less prone to repetitive-stress injuries.
Other research out of Harvard has demonstrated that the foot-strike pattern associated with barefoot runners is significantly more economical for running, meaning runners use less energy to run the same distances as runners wearing traditional shoes and striking with the heel.
The second study was published in February 2013 in the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. This trial raises questions about whether barefoot running is really advantageous or simply contributes to the development of a different set of running injuries. Thirty-six recreational, experienced runners participated in the study. Each participant had, until the beginning of the trial, run between 15 and 30 miles a week wearing normal running shoes. Both groups received a pre-participation MRI of their feet to ensure no pre-existing injuries were present.
Half of the participants were used as a control and told to continue their running routine using the same mileage in the same shoes for the duration of the study. The other runners were given barefoot-style shoes and told to incorporate them into their runs according to the recommendations provided at the time by the manufacturer: a single short 1-2-mile run in the shoes the first week and two 1-2-mile runs in the shoes the second and third weeks. After the third week participants were encouraged to add miles as they felt comfortable.
Following 10 weeks of training, both groups received follow-up MRI studies. Neither group showed injuries or tissue changes to any of the structures in the lower leg, but over half of the participants wearing barefoot-style shoes had developed increased bone-marrow edema in the tarsals and metatarsal bones.
The radiologists rated the severity of the edema on a scale of 0 to 4, with 0 indicating no edema and 1 indicating the slight edema of a normal response to training. The control group showed average level 1 edema levels in the bones of their feet, while the majority of the barefoot-running group had developed edema levels of at least 2. Three of the barefoot runners had extensive level 3 edema and two displayed full stress fractures of their calcaneus or metatarsals with associated level 4 edema. By the end of the test period, almost all of the barefoot-style runners were running fewer miles due to pain and soreness.
The takeaway message from this is that barefoot running does indeed limit the heel strike gait that can cause repetitive-stress injuries; however, if you decide to make the switch, the researchers recommend that you take enough time to transition so that your bones and muscles have time to adapt.
Whether you decide to continue with your regular running shoes or change to a more minimal, barefoot style shoe, let the chiropractors at The Joint in the Salt Lake city area evaluate you and adjust not only your spine but your feet and ankles also ensure that you are functioning at your optimal level.
Dr. Brad Hendricks
The Joint Cottonwood Heights
- Lieberman DE, Venkadesan M, Werbel WA, Daoud AI, D'Andrea S, Davis IS, Mang'eni RO, Pitsiladis Y. Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners. Nature, 2010;463:531-5.
- Ridge ST, Johnson AW, Mitchell UH, Hunter I, Robinson E, Rich BS, Brown SD. Foot bone marrow edema after 10-week transition to minimalist running shoes. Med Sci Sports Exerc, 2013 Feb 22.
