Have a medical condition or running-related injury that somehow cleared up when ditching the shoes?

Barefoot TJ

Administrator
Staff member
Mar 5, 2010
21,467
7,013
113
I have Morton's Neuroma...yes, many of you know this, but I must share here as well. I can't run but maybe a mile while wearing boat anchors (should I ever wear boat anchors again...NOT), but I can run 17 miles barefoot before the horrible pain from MN tells me to call it a day.


What's your story?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Sid
For me, running barefoot got

For me, running barefoot got rid of persistent shin splints as well as knee and back pain.

However, because I didn't have a mentor when I started 11 years ago, I developed large bone spurs at the backs of both of my heels. I didn't figure out the form problem until I was into this 8 1/2 years! I'm a really slow learner! That's why I stress stress stress proper running form! I learned the hard way to land midfoot and NOT on the toes. Landing on the heels is painful so that was a no brainer, but landing on my toes didn't hurt, at first, and when it did 8.5 years later, it was way too late then. The good thing is that the surgery to remove the bone spurs should restore my ability to run farther and faster again and I don't anticipate the spurs will return.
 
I had a lot of lower back

I had a lot of lower back problems which are gone now!



I'm going to take this opportunity to see if I can pinch smilies from another forum...

frigid.gif
cheers.gif






boot.gif
 
Did you highlight/copy then

Did you highlight/copy then paste, Wendy?
 
  My original reason to try

My original reason to try flat shoes was help with chronic knee soreness, I could never make it a whole summer before I had to stop with hurting knee's usually both...knee's have good ever since. My bad ankles got worse at first until I started barefoot running then slowly improved although I doubt they will ever be 100% due to a long history of sprains which I part way blame on over thick shoes. It may or may not be related but my back hasn't bothered me since I started barefoot running either...I had been going to a chiropractor regular for a couple years before that.
 
I fully committed to running

I fully committed to running barefoot after years of suffering from chronic knee pain, shin splints and aching arches.

I went to the doctors many times for running induced pains and a physical therapist said that I would never be a runner. I could never get past running a slow 5k. One day I bought a pair of Vibram TKOs and ran a 10k for the first time without the usual pains. That's when I not only threw out my shoes I also fell in love with running.



I have since seen some of my friends begin to get more active and dabble in running since going barefoot or "semi-barefoot" because it not only eased the pains but added an element of fun and individualism. I love it!
 
This isn't a barefoot-related

This isn't a barefoot-related cure, but Mr Deplume switched to his old Nike Frees a couple of months ago (he had started to run in them 3 years ago, btu then listened to the "Experts" and switched to big fluffy shoes). A couple of hundred miles of wearing them and his hammer toes are remarkably less hammer-y. I noticed it one day when he was standing barefoot in the kitchen, and though to myself, "gee, his toes look flatter than I remember them." (which is saying a lot: the guy had seriously ugly gnarled tree-stump-like feet for the whole time I've known him). I didn't say anything to him because I thought maybe I had just imagined a change.

Then this weekend, after having finished reading 'Born To Run', he pulled off his socks and really looked at his feet. He walked over to me and showed them to me. After talking about it, we're both pretty gobsmacked at the change. If we had known that going to a reduced shoe might make a difference in the structure of his feet, we would have taken "before" pictures.

Also, the fact that he's been training for a half marathon May 1 and has no toenail bruises is a miracle in itself. Even though the Free's aren't exactly minimal, they are a world away from the giant motion control shoes that the running store said he needed. And that made him lose a toenail every training cycle. :shock:
 
Awesome story, Mrs. Deplume. 

Awesome story, Mrs. Deplume. This is definitely a case of less is so much more, even if it is just a little bit less. I wonder how he would fair barefoot. And then again, perhaps he has found his happy medium, and that is all that truly matters.
 
 I had lower back issues that

I had lower back issues that gradually worsened until I was walking with a cane. Last spring, I found an article that said raised heels were bad for your posture and I switched to minimal footwear (VFF KSOs). The improvement was so dramatic I put away the cane, started to run, did the Couch to 5K program, and now dream of someday running an ultra. Full story here.
 
Wonderful, remarkable, Tim! 

Wonderful, remarkable, Tim! Can I have your permission to reproduce this story in our upcoming newsletter, Run Free? Can you email me a couple of pictures of you, one in your VFFs too? You can reach me at BarefootTJ at BarefootRunnersSociety dot org. Thank you so much!
 
 I had PlantersFasciitis

I had PlantersFasciitis (Heel pain), got prescribed orthotics. Then had Metarsalgia (Ball-of-foot pain), got prescribed "improved" orthotics (including metatarsal pad) and totally stiff shoes. Both times was also given lots of exercises to do (I believe that is what really worked, the orthotics were temporary crutches).

Once I could walk reasonably again, I phased out the stiff shoes and orthotics over a 4 week period, and now only wear Feelmax or TerraPlana minimal shoes (no heel, no arch, no support, thin flexible sole). I then started slowly building up running (from zero with additional .025miles each week). I still keep up the foot+toe exercises 2 times per day to further enhance/maintain foot strength.

This story is on my Blog "Natural (Barefoot or Minimal) Running", as Post: "Why are feet injured?(need natural style running)"

I ran 6.5 miles Sunday as my last main run before my 10k this Saturday, and the feet feel great.
download


- My only problem in last 6 months has been 1 week off for multi-day root-canal and head-cold :(

- but cannot blame that on the feet :)



Some Photos (Links, I dont know how to past in photos here):

No-Orthotics: http://www.swbs.com/No-Orthotics.jpg

Flexible-Osmas: http://www.swbs.com/FeelMax-Osma.jpg

VFFs: http://www.swbs.com/VFF-Treks.jpg
 
Every time I tried to run

Every time I tried to run I ended up with shin splints and heel pain. I'd had knee pain for several years due to an old injury and was given a brace to wear as running made it worse as well. Since going BF I have had no shin or heel pain and no knee pain even after ditching the brace.
 
Those are truly amazing

Those are truly amazing stories, you guys. I've heard countless similar stories. I wish we had a diary of all these types of stories. We could present it to the podiatry community and the shoe manufacturers. Who wants to take on this task? Seriously, you would be working for the Barefoot Runners Society as a field investigator, journalist...or something like that. Give me some good titles, and let me know if you would like this job. The BRS will help with whatever you need. Of course, you would be paid the same as the rest of us...nothing, but you will have the saatisfaction of knowing you played a big role in promoting the barefoot running movement/sport.
 
i got my first training cert

i got my first training cert 13 years ago and since that time people have paid me to fix them. i have been very successful and fixing other people and getting them back to whatever activity it is that they couldnt do. my greatest success is teaching a quadriplegic how to contract her abs again even though she can't feel them. still with all that knowledge it took me three years to figure out how to fix my own knee.

i suffered a partial tear of the patella tendon when i was 17, and somewhere between there and 26 i tore my acl from the femur, and ruptured my mcl. i decided to get it "fixed" and for three years after the surgery i suffered more pain and upset with the knee than i had at any time before the surgery. i tried shoe after shoe and exercise after exercise until one day i remembered that i am the foot guy. the guy who preaches that all energy and kinetic force comes from the base of the feet. i went into my closet and got my sprints out. i started strengthening my feet through barefoot lifting and running drills. it took some time but getting back to my own basics has led me to being a full time minimalist/barefoot guy. i dont put conventional shoes on my feet any more and i dont suffer any problems in my knee. i can still feel some tension from scar tissue but my knee no longer locks up or throbs for no reason. tiny little muscles making a huge difference. you have to love that.
 
That is truly remarkable,

That is truly remarkable, Jimmy. Wow! I wonder if cryosurgery could help with your scar tissue. It requires a very tiny incision which closes in about four days. My doctor said that the cryosurgery I just had on my feet not only shrinks the neuroma but also gets rid of the scar tissue that had develped in that area.
 
 that might be something to

that might be something to look at TJ. at this point i suffer no pain from the scar tissue and i still have work done on it from time to time with my massage therapist to break it up. this can be fairly painful at times but works extremely well! she has done amazing things with the scar tissue over the past year. for now i just feel it when i flex my quad as it pulls awkwardly on my knee cap and when i bend my knee to full flexion but since i rarely do either of those i dont notice it too much.
 
I have never experienced any

I have never experienced any running related injuries until 2009 when I developed Runners Knee. I attribute the injury to a combination of bad running from (heel striker) and increased training and race mileage throughout the year. I committed in 2010 to improving my core strength through a whole body workout program and improving my form by losing my Asics Gel-Nimbus's. I have not worn conventional shoes since the first of the year and run the majority of my training and races in VFF's but some BF as conditions allow. I am happy to say I am no longer experiencing any of the knee discomfort I had at the end of last year which at one point it was difficult to continue to run much more than a mile before things started acting up. My longest run to date is a 25K and I had a 3rd place finish in my age group and 18th overall a couple weeks ago at a trail half marathon. I personally feel shedding my conventional shoes for minimal/BF running has been a big factor in getting me back on the roads and trails.
 
I LOVE stories like yours

I LOVE stories like yours Sole. I bet that was a real frustrating time for you. At least it's over, and now you can really enjoy running again.