Now that I've got your attention with that inflammatory headline...

The other day I was at a picnic lunch with a mixed group of people.  I mentioned that I'm doing some experimenting with barefoot running, and said something about what a marvelous and complex structure the foot is.  A co-worker sitting across from me (in her sixties) said that when she was a little girl she ran around everywhere in bare feet. I said "lots of us did," thinking this would be a nice segue into how natural and healthy BF is.  Then she continued, "That's how I ruined my feet."  Conversation stopper.

I suspect that her mother was concerned that she grow up ladylike and proper, and ladies wear shoes.  There were probably arguments about it.  It may also go back to the days when body parts were simple machines, with finite amounts of wear.  Use 'em up, and then they're done.  Rest was the treatment for anything that ailed you.  Surgery, childbirth - six to eight weeks on your back in the hospital.  Illness or injury - you're confined to your room until you're better.  God forbid that you should move a sore joint or expend any energy unnecessarily.

Remnants of that kind of thinking are still among us.  Sorry for the people who are still bound by it.

When barefooters say "running in shoes ruined my feet/ankles/knees/whatever," that's not really accurate. It's how we ran in shoes that caused destruction. The same goes the other way around - if you get injured running barefoot, it's not that you were barefoot, but how you ran when barefoot that can cause issues.

Last year a lady in my neighborhood chastised me for my lack of shoes, saying her brother destroyed his feet running that way. We chatted for a bit, and it turns out her brother ran barefoot on the beach - a soft, cushioned surface. I suggested to her that maybe because the surface was cushioned, it didn't hurt to run in a way that, over the long term, really punished his feet. On the abrasive and hard road, I have to be very gentle, otherwise it will hurt. It's that gentleness that keeps my feet in great condition as I pile the miles on.

I saw that lady again recently. She said, "I'm so glad to see you're still at it; looks like you know what you're doing!" That's not something I hear very often in any aspect of my life...

Josh

barefootjosh.com

 

My mom.  She is 65 and breaks something about every few years.  Most recently her neck.  She's a klutz and doesn't have the muscle strength/coordination to pull herself out of falls.  In the past 25 years she has broken her foot, her elbow, her tailbone, her neck...and I'm probably missing something.  These are not accidents done while exercising.  She broke her elbow tripping over a parking stone and broke her neck bringing groceries into the house, losing her balance, and landing with her head against the doorjamb.  My younger sister is rapidly following in our mom's footsteps.  I don't want to be like my mom or sister, so I stay active.  I may not be graceful, but I stay strong so that when I do have klutzy moments the resulting injuries are relatively minor and heal fast.

Yeah, staying active is so important, for bone strength as well as for muscle strength.  I'm not really that much younger than your mom, but I feel better in every way than I have for decades, now that I've started running.