Transition to Minimalist Shoes

[krazycp]

A little background first:

I used to be a runner in high school, now I am just really walking. I am 35. About 2 years ago I got bursitis on my heel at my achilles. It took a lot of stretching and some steroids and it went away. Because of that injury, I started wearing my running shoes (with arch support) all the time to take the load off my achilles. A year later, I got nerve damage in my leg. I don't know how it happened, but it was very painful to walk, so I took it easy. However, I was never able to really get back into walking much. This spring, I decided to try barefoot walking. I was going very, very slow with it. On my second time out, I started walking down an asphalt path and just a few steps into it my second toe started hurting really bad. I do know I stepped on a stone and didn't brush it off, so either the stone bruised or injured something, or its capsulitis. Not sure. My pediatrist ins't sure either.

I'm a big proponent of barefoot and minimalist shoes. I'm trying to be more natural to hopefully move beyond injuries and get walking more! Maybe even running again.

I want to transition to a shoe that is zero drop, no toe spring, and wide toe box. The question is how to do this. My plan (and this is where i welcome any thoughts), it to gradually step down the heel drop. Finding wide toe boxes and no toe spring is very difficult without going to minimalist shoes. And if I do that, the change in heel drop could hurt my achilles. Right now my current shoe is a 10 mm heel drop, so I plan on buying a shoe with a 8 mm heel drop. I plan to wear those for 3 months, then buy a shoe with a 6 mm heel drop. Then etc, etc, until I get to zero.

Also, there is a the issue of my arch support. Somehow I need to transition out of that to give my arch a chance to strengthen. I thought I might just start by removing the arch support and using the standard insert of the shoe for a short time per day, then gradually increase that as I go. Any thoughts there is welcomed as well.

Thanks for reading this long post. I am very excited about my prospects for better foot health and I truly believe I can go barefoot someday!

 

[Kyrrinstoch]

I would suggest simply picking up a 0-drop/minimalist shoe (with minimal cushioning) and start with spending a very short amount of time in them each day (10-15 minutes?) doing normal everyday things (getting your mail, doing stuff around the house, etc). After a week, or when that amount of time no longer causes you any discomfort, increase the time in them slightly. Each week, continue gradually increasing the time you spend in the minimalist shoes until you get to the point where you're comfortable in them for extended periods. Remember to listen to what your feet/ankles tell you though: there's a difference between sore muscles/tendons from reasonable exercise and then there's pain from attempting to do too much too soon. If you need to take a day or two off from wearing them - do so.

My experience showed that the gradual introduction and transition I described was a good route for me. Especially with the limited selection of minimalist shoes in my size (9EEEE). It took me about 18 months (and in spite of an IT-Band issue), but I am now at the point where I can consistently do a 2-3 mile barefoot run in the mornings, have no issues wearing my Five Fingers or moccasins all day and only need to wear my orthotics for extra support when I'm doing heavy yardwork or standing for extended periods.

 

[I-Did-It (Steve)]

Spend as much time barefoot around the home and yard as possible....and march in place barefoot a few times a day, then lightly run in place totally barefoot a few times a day.

Practice balancing on one foot at a time barefoot with no support, as this strengthens the feet and ankle muscles too. Do this several times a day on each foot.

Also, do the "25's" a few times a day.

i.e. walk barefoot on only the heels with toes straight ahead for 25 steps, then repeat with toes pointed outward for 25 steps, then repeat with toes pointed inward for twenty five steps.

Then do the three sets of 25 steps with toes straight, pointed inward, and pointed outward while walking on your forefoot like you were tippy toeing. Again, totally barefoot, not even socks.



While transitioning to barefoot/minimalist, try to avoid long uphill walks, as this puts extra strain on the calf tendons and muscles.,,,so no long treadmill walks with the treadmill inclined for the 1st ten days or so.

The key thing is to just go totally barefoot as much and as often as possible, and understand one VERY important thing...the reason going barefoot is so helpful, is because it hurts...I can't stress that enough....being barefoot helps your body to recover from years of walking with cushioned boards strapped to your feet precisely BECAUSE IT HURTS. Meaning that when you walk with cushioned boards strapped to your feet, you are walking in a way that damages you because your body did not evolve to move in that way, but the shoe cushioning 'hides' the discomfort of the damage that you are doing to yourself.

Walking or running barefoot simply cannot be done for more than a few seconds in a self damaging way, because it hurts too much, the pain is your friend, because it is telling your body what NOT TO DO. So go barefoot, and change the way you walk and run until you find a way to do it that does not hurt. There will be a bit of trial and error involved.

Even with minimalist shoes, you can still walk and run somewhat in a way that allows you to hurt yourself, but not barefoot.

Throw your orthotics in the trash can...walking on orthotics to correct what is essentially a weak muscles problem, is like putting a cast on your arm because your biceps are weak....instead of helping you, they are hurting you by PREVENTING you from strengthening the muscles, which will occur naturally the more time you spend barefoot walking and running around the way your body evolved to.

Throw your old cushioned planks in the trash, and wait to get a minimalist shoe until you have strengthened your feet adequately from being totally barefoot.

In my opinion, minimalist shoes should only be used AFTER you have adequately redeveloped you foot's natural health and movement, because ALL shoes limit this to some extent.

Minimalist shoes are not good for transitioning to barefoot or for transitioning back to healthy feet...they are for feet that are already healthy...while those cushioned planks and orthotics are just some junk that someone conned you into spending money on by pandering to your fears....throw them away, they hurt you way more than they help you.

If you must wear some kind of shoe, get an ultra minimalist sandal like the Xero Shoes DIY kit.

 

[Bill B]

http://www.thera-bandacademy.com/tba-portal/Thera-Band-Stability-Products
These are great for strengthening your feet! I have the black one and swear by it!