Wearing sport shoes with air bags under the heels are one of the worst things you can do for your feet and function!  The more you put between your feet and ground—the more you decrease the quality of sensory information coming off the ground into your feet.  This lack of quality information creates a “clarity” issue for your brain and nervous system much like trying to navigate with a fuzzy map—it does not work well.  In addition to limiting sensory input off ground, tall air cushion heels alter the neutral foot/ankle position which challenges vertical column integrity.  Interestingly, studies show increased “heel cushion” increases the force the body puts into the ground in order to get ground feedback through the air sole—in reality even MORE force comes up through the body instead of less like the shoe companies want you to believe.  Please note–the optimal shock absorption is in your feet—NOT the shoes!  *For more information, see my Foot Products.

ANY heel lift is unnatural for the foot—ANY.  Heel lifts are for fashion and status—not function.  Heels make people taller.  Height is typically viewed as a status symbol.  Historically, wealthy people wanted to literally “look down upon” the poor that were outlawed from wearing elevated shoes—it’s that simple. Interestingly, at some points in history, shoes with heel lifts were literally banned for peasants thus relegating them to an inferior height position so the wealthy “could look down their noses” at them.

Any and all heel lifts will immediately alter vertical column integrity and fall line unless you start compensating.  The less heel lift you have in your shoes, the safer and more efficiently you can walk and run.  Heel lifts also reduce the effectiveness of the Achilles Tendon for propulsion.  The Achilles is designed to stretch out and snap the heel back up to assist in forward locomotion, but when it is chronically shortened by heel lifts, the Achilles cannot fully do its job which creates compensations in glutes, front thighs, and other muscles of the body.  Bottom Line?  It’s not as efficient to have a heel lift.  Our foot does not need a heel lift—if it did, the heel lift would be built into our foot at birth!

For a fun experiment, take your shoes completely off. Stand on flat level ground. Carefully raise heels off the ground about 1/2″ by ONLY bending at the balls of your feet (metatarsal joints). DO NOT change anything else in your hips, spine, upper body, etc.–only bend at the balls of your feet. Get ready to pitch forward and catch yourself before you fall! You will quickly see how delicate our balance is as humans as we are the ONLY mammals that stand completely upright on such a narrow base of support with only two feet. Many other animals have four feet plus a much lower center of gravity. For humans, our vertical column integrity is critical. *See my future posts on “Column Integrity” and “Falling Line” for more information.

Most people wear shoes that are too narrow because we view smaller feet as more attractive feet. It’s been reported that the most popular width of women’s shoe sold in America is “B” width yet most women have a wider foot. This means women in particular are cramming their feet into shoes too small to allow for proper function—Daaa! Any woman could have told you that!

The forefoot needs room to spread across toe area to increase base of support and stability during static stance and gait. If you bind your foot with narrow shoes, you remove an important part of your safety system below because the foot and toes cannot spread out. Once again, keep your shoe out of the way of your foot so the foot can do its job. *See my future posts on the “Prehensile Foot” for more information.

If you are serious about barefoot running, read, “Barefoot Running” by Michael Sandler.  It’s a great read for anyone interested in barefoot running and foot fitness.  Not only does Michael have an amazing personal story about how he got into foot fitness and fixed his own feet, but I have met Michael in person and heard him speak.  I believe he is completely dedicated to making the world a better place…from the ground up with better feet.  The book is well documented and supported by numerous medical professionals as well.  Get it now—walk and run better tomorrow!

The book does an excellent job going over the biomechanics and neurology of feet and especially the conditioning aspects of feet and skin of feet.  The book also touches on some related topics which can get away from feet specifically, so it also covers general fitness conditioning, nutrition, and philosophy.  This is a great book for running better whether shod or bare. Michael’s website is www.runbare.com.  Tell him Coach RJ sent you!

As I launched my new Foot Fitness website, I went back into my testimonials and started reflecting upon the people I have met or helped through the internet in different parts of the world that had foot pain. I am deeply moved by this work, the wonderful progress people have made, and their awakening to believe in feet first. Thanks so much for giving your feet a chance with safe and effective foot exercises, foot therapy tools, and healthy shoes.

In Foot Fitness for ALL, RJ

Normal populations without serious clinical issues do not need rigid heel support with shoes or devices.  Our heel support is in the foot itself!  Beyond the stability of the heel, the ankle above is primarily about mobility.  Some heel support can also reduce ankle mobility depending upon design.  If you bind or restrict the ankle from being mobile, you will increase stress and chance for injury above the ankle in lower leg bones, knee, hip, and even the back plus increase stress below the ankle in the foot itself.  From a strength perspective, to obtain “strong” ankles, we need to be able to move and exercise the ankles through FULL ranges of motion—not bind them in restrictive positions because over time—bound ankles mean weakened ankles.  Again, give your foot a chance to do its job first—not the shoes, braces, supports, or other devices!

While the foot is bare in a flip-flop, it will not have normal function during gait cycle.  In order to keep the flip flop from falling off during gait, one must flex or “scrunch” toes to keep the sandal in position.  While flip-flops are fine for most people, chronic use of flip-flops can create problems with toe deformity and create foot pain.  So if you have significant foot pain and constantly wear flip-flops, you might consider not using them for a while just to make sure they are not causing the problem.  This happened to one of my clients once—when she stopped wearing flip-flops exclusively, all the foot pain went away, and she was able to return to her normal exercise routine.

I know this sounds overly simplistic, but working muscles need more blood supply than idle muscles.  When you consider that many people with “cold feet” are sedentary and wearing stiff shoes, it makes sense that their feet are cold!  If your feet are not working, they won’t require much blood.  Feet will not work while sitting.  Feet will not work as hard to stabilize while walking in stiff and overly supportive shoes.  I have learned that by increasing foot fitness, you also improve the blood supply and circulatory system to your feet.  The more blood, the warmer the extremity.  The more work, the more blood is delivered.  So, if you want warmer feet—use them!  It’s that simple.

The ankle is a fascinating joint often misunderstood.  We have historically thought of ankles needing “ankle support,” but in reality, the ankle is more of a mobility joint designed to change positions rapidly and often to help us stay upright and vertical.

1/4 of your body’s bones are in your feet! Sure, these bones are smaller and shorter than other bones above; however, they do an incredible job to control your vertical structure. Equally important are all the joints in your feet at the end of each bone. Joints are meant to MOVE. Having good structure in your feet plus proper joint mobility is critical for good health!