Retrolisthesis and... Barefoot? :S

Sven

Sven

Barefooters
May 8, 2012
15
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#1
Hey all friends. I am a lover of running, I have been running for a year aproximatly and bit by bit improving doing it.

I meet a friend that runs barefoot, and asked me why dont I try it.

I want to, but I dont know if I am be able to do it because of a low back injury I have: Retrolisthesis L5-S1 level 1. This injury is the reason of why I started to run. Dont hurt now, but I dont know If this style of running could aggravate, or in the other hand, improve the injury.



Thank you so much, and I'm ready to learn everything about you all!

(Sorry for my english, I'm spanish)
 
#2
Hi Sven,

I'm not sure what Retrolisthesis is exactly, I had a fusion of my L5-S1 (my second major back surgery) and was in pain every day afterwards. Nearly a year after the fusion my Doctors told me I would probably never be able to walk without pain again and I most definitely would never run again. I discovered barefoot running shortly after this and within a week of running and living barefoot my back pain was nearly completely gone. Now a year later I have zero problems with my back. Now, everybody is different and my story may be an anomaly, but I certainly don't think it will hurt your back. Make sure you learn to walk gently and run gently by landing on the midfoot or forefoot with your knees bent. In fact I think it can make it better for you, but that's my own personal opinion. Good luck!
 
#4
Get longboard in on this discussion....he's got a lot to say about vertebra and what not
 
#5
Sven is Spanish. Who would have guessed it? :)

Sven, try it. Just go for a short distance though. Try a 1/4 of a mile, then stop. Be gentle, step lightly, as you will anyway with your shoes off. Then see how you feel the next day. If you had no problems, try it again a day later, resting in between barefoot runs. Then after a week or two increase your barefoot distance to 1/2 mile and so on, just making sure you reassess how you feel after each run and the day after each run. Let us know how you do.
 
#7
Sven said:
Well, I will. I'm thinking in buying the fivefingers classics. What do you think?

Is my english so bad? Haha
Click to expand...
English is great!.......footwear choice......booooo =(
In your case it even sounds somewhat dangerous....wouldn't you want to get all the feedback from you feet possible to avoid injury? Maybe I don't fully understand your injury however
 
#8
Your English is much better than my Spanish.

You can try the VFFs, but you should give barefoot running a try first. Your own feet will teach you how to run lightly and gently to limit your chances of becoming injured, while any footwear, even the thinnest, can cause more problems by robbing you of critical feedback, feedback that you need to tell you if you are running safely. And for you, with your back problems, you want to be able to run as safely as possible.
 
#9
Hola Sven, Bienvenidos! I agree with TJ and Zetti. Go barefoot first, it will prevent you from doing too much too soon, will force you to run very lightly which must be better for your back and you can spent your money on some really good coffee (or a donation to the Barefoot Runners Society!).

Que le vaya bien.

Sara
 
#11
Sven said:
Okey, I will run barefoot first... but where? It hurts a bit haha...
Click to expand...
try a clean sidewalk....the hard surface will reinforce the importance of good form (trust me...you will know if your doing it wrong :D)
And just to bunk what seems like common sense....it seems that feet are more sensitive when walking then running (at least for me)......so you'd be surprised how little BF running actually hurts!
 
#12
I know when the pavement is hot, I feel more pain and discomfort when walking due to my feet touching the ground for longer periods of time on each step.
 
#15
There are always risks.....the good thing is that going totally BF allows your feet to give your body great feedback...that way many risks are minimized by your body automatically.
Just take it easy and keep smiling. If you stop smiling....figure out why and how to start again =)
Otherwise...don't worry too much and have fun!
 
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#16
Zetti said:
Get longboard in on this discussion....he's got a lot to say about vertebra and what not
Click to expand...

That there retrolisthesis is the only spinal thing I have'nt been diagnosed with yet. Maybe they just forgot to mention it.
As far as what not? Bell's Oberon, w/o the orange slice.
 
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#17
Longboard said:
That there retrolisthesis is the only spinal thing I have'nt been diagnosed with yet. Maybe they just forgot to mention it.
As far as what not? Bell's Oberon, w/o the orange slice.
Click to expand...

What does "As far as what not? " mean?? X(

A barefoot shoes shop recommended me the neo vivobarefoot.
 
#18
“And what not” is similar to “e tal”
Just an expression to identify an ambiguous extension of an already present subject. LongBoard then took that and jokingly referred to it as a relatively non-related topic =)…..funny man.
Vivobarefoot has a good line. I got a pair of neo’s for 35 on www.theclymb.com . I don’t use them for running however…just when I have to wear shoes. They are good shoes, just EXPENSIVE if bought at normal retail price.
Just stop and think real quickly about the irony of “barefoot shoes”…that should resolve most of your doubts…..it’s like saying commercial free advertisement :D
 
#20
Okay.....I would suggest that you order either http://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Running-Step-Shoeless-Technique/dp/1592334652 or http://www.amazon.com/Barefoot-Runn...=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1336741692&sr=1-3

That pain should tell you that your form is off. Its all about lifting the feet not planting or pushing off. Form is a heated debate, but not many would argue with the fact that starting out you should probably run a tad more slowly, shorter gait, and lift your feet.
There are a lot of good form tips in this forum and on the "other" (RW) forum in form of a sticky at the very top.
 
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