I have a damaged right knee from a motorcycle crash. I switched to barefoot shoes, removed the sole liner, wear toe socks. Transitioned for 2 weeks. Have worn them daily since 2018 (with exceptions of my timberland boots camping, Nike frees for when I’m just in the mood, etc). But I wear them 90% of my life. My right knee pain I had is basically gone. Yes I walk correctly in them. Yes I’ve had people make fun of my vivos when I switched. Now people ask me about them. Lead your own path. Make a change. The body is a wonderful, wonderful self-healing machine.

I made the switch about 8 months ago. I unfortunately didn't do any of the transition stuff I just got a variety of minimalist shoes and wore them every day. The first few weeks my feet hurt every day (I walk a lot at my job) but slowly over Time I noticed that all went away as my feet got more conditioned. And what really surprised me is I had chronic pain in my knee and ankle that had been reoccurring the past few years that almost completely disappeared. Now I'm pain free just by sticking to it. Barefoot shoes changed my life

Why does this not have hundreds of thousands of views?

Compelling presentation. Just wish I'd learnt this 30 years ago.

One day Nike will be on the cutting edge by developing special foot balms for barefoot runners instead of shoes...then scientists will study it and realize it’s just regular ol natural Shea butter

I am 73 and a avid hiker I have worn mostly Vibram shoes full-time for daily use and hiking in rocky, dry, desert mountains, the surface is hard. After over 4 years of just daily walking and hiking in the mountains I no longer have foot toe fungus problems, plantar fasciitis, my arches are normal not flat, my hip joints no longer hurt. On the downside I got tendonitis, capsulitis, metatarsal muscles overuse, but after giving myself time to heal today I wear Vibram five finger shoes mostly full-time again.

I am an early childhood educator, and it frustrates me no end to see infants and toddlers in fashion shoes/sneakers.

I grew up barefoot I’m home barefoot right now, I’m not new to this. I just didn’t even know of minimalist shoes for adults until now. I just got minimalist shoes for my Disney trip.

Twenty years ago I started taking kung fu, and the rule was no shoes in class. That really strengthened my feet, to the point where I had to adjust the way I tied my shoes to accommodate my arches. Then probably 15 years ago I got into barefoot running. I never much liked running, but always liked sprinting. People said you need to ease into running barefoot, so I probably ran a quarter mile, and then in a day or two my calves were killing me. But that wore off in about a week, and then barefoot running was fine, except I didn't do it enough to keep my feet callused, so I got some minimalist shoes. More recently, maybe 5 years ago, I started shuffle dancing. Wow, that really builds up you calves and feet! You have to get that bounce to keep it going. Also, the fitness center where I live has Bosu balls, which are inflated on one side with a flat platform on the other, those are great for developing balance. I think most people use them flat side down, but for balance you put the ball side down.

Very illuminating

I‘m just turning 40, m, overweight and am plagued was plantar fasciitis for 2 years now. Have had five finger shoes since they came out, but only used them irregularity, because I lacked the knowledge of fore foot running/walking. Now that I’m learning and improving my fore foot gait everything makes a lot of sense. I don’t crash into my heel and am pain free when walking. Same goes for jogging. So while it might be true that the foundation for walking is from heel to fore foot, the other way round helps reduce stress to my heel spur/facia greatly at slow paces.

35:08 sounds like some useful criteria and abilities to have before moving to barefoot running, thank you. Really, really interesting presentation - many thanks.

Wonderful presentation! Thank you!!!

you shouldn't have shoes on in your house anyways - that's filthy.

i spend most of every day in sandles, flip flops, leather high end flip flops no heal just flat. have done this since i got into muay thai about 6 or 7 years ago. my feet are now wider and stronger. i work out in bare feet. tried running in running shoes it sucks. ordered bare foot running shoes 32 days ago and today i see this.

Really informative & detailed ideas about how mostly all modern shoes ruin / are always ruining our (otherwise) amazing feet! I started refraining from running without shoes since 2013, which 9 years' Barefoot Run experience told/still tells me many benefits told in this video. The term of "Shoes Coffins" is the very precise & vivid descriptions about the many DRAWBACKS of Shod Running, but only in two words! Thanks for your wonderful educational video!

i have started doing feet exercises and the ball and plastic bottle i never knew. Great presentation. Amazing video.

We're definitely devolving in places where people are relying more on technology and our brains.. we have to keep a balance or we'll start to lose senses/functions we built up over the years to survive

This showing is very interesting topic ...Appreciate your video😊

A GREAT LISTEN. WONDERFUL STUFF FOR FEET. I WALK BAREFOOT IN THE GRASS EVERY MORNING TO BEGIN MY DAY. THANK YOU.

I have always ditched my shoes at the least opportunity, worn Skoll's and sandles as necessary. I am now 75 play squash, badminton, tennis, Tai Chi, Yoga, swim and walk miles - its just a continuation of how I've always lived. I can tell you, it is not just your feet that are at an advantage through barefoot philosophy your whole body feels the effect with more energy and lightness and flexibility

Wonderful thanks

Mindblowing.

This made me beat up my nike's, they will never cripple me again. Sandle gang 😂

I was born (in 1959) to live barefoot. In fact, humans have evolved barefoot and the feet are well-equipped to handle any problems they might encounter on the ground. Aside from accidentally stepping onto something that might be painful (e.g. a Lego) you’ll be fine. In fact, it’s much healthier to go barefoot, than to let your foot sweat inside your shoe, creating a dark, damp and warm environment, perfect for the growth of bacteria and fungi. Aside from that, your average modern shoe is too narrow for the human foot, meaning it will compress and eventually deform your foot causing all kinds of issues !

I've been a 5 fingers wearer for over ten years and completed a marathon last Sunday while wearing these minimalist shoes. I hate wearing any shoes with cushioning.

I remember when the people from Xero Shoes came to ABC's "Shark Tank" only to be laughed out of the room when their pitch had failed to generate interest from all of the investors...

I've always liked being barefoot. As a kid, I remember myself and other kids running around barefoot even on gravel alleys. I wear shoes as little as possible, both walking and running. And this is often with forefront contact, i.e., on my toes. Of course, my preference is soft grass or dirt. There is something so relaxing about a barefoot jog on lush grass. It's luxurious. In my life, I've done a lot of physical activities with my feet and legs, from soccer to hacky sack. I have strong and flexible feet and ankles. It's interesting that a lot of the exercises in this and other videos are things I've done naturally. I suspect that if you're barefoot most of the time these kinds of movements will be learned automatically, as one unlearns bad habits from wearing shoes.

Great Video!

0:12 Barefoot walking around the house MRI study proves increasing from 2500 to 7000 steps per day over 8 weeks increases strength of muscles of the foot 3:05 Evolutionary Biology appears to indicate that we evolved to run. Change from Australopithecus to Homo Erectus 5:10 26 Bones, 33 Joints. Each joint has 6 degrees of freedom of motion. 4 Layers of arch muscle to control deformation of the arch on every step It is truly an amazing structure well suited for walking and running on a large variety of surfaces 5:51 First appearance of shoe 10,000 years ago. Simple protection for sole of foot. Clothing is meant to protect us, not to replace muscle power 6:50 1890 J.W. Foster & Son's (Reebok) came out with first spiked running show 1917 Advent of vulcanized rubber leads to first "sneaker" the "Keds Champion" rubber sole canvas top 1925 Adi Dasler (Adidas) customised the spikes for different running 1963 ASICS Onitsuku Tiger imported by Phil Knight introduces the cushioned heel (beginning of the end) 1972 Phil Knight leaves ASICS to form Nike who create their own version of the Tiger, the "Nike Cortez" 40 years later we now have The Modern Running shoe Elevated cushioned heel, stiff heel counter, arch support, high medial midsole density We have gone so far as to have a running shoe knows as "The Hormonal Shoe" the Asics GEL-KAYANO 16 designed to adjust its stiffness according to a women's time of the month. 9:10 In 2005 Nike reps who sponsored the team were at the Stanford Track teams training and wanted to know why the team was practicing without shoes? The coach (Vin Lananna) answered that even though he did not have any objective evidence, he had noticed that his team ran faster and were injured less when they trained barefoot. 9:50 Nike reps went back to Nike and tried to solve the problem of creating a shoe that mimicked barefoot running and in 2005 came up with the "Nike Free" 10:10 2009 "Barefoot Ted" (see: Born to Run article) trying to find a shoe that would protect his feet and last when run in. Vibram brought out a shoe for boating that Ted thought would be perfect for him as it was a glove for his feet. 10:45 2010 New companies or small shoe companies like "Vivo Barefoot" arise with minimalist shoe design 11:00 2012 Big Shoe companies start to bring in partial minimalist shoes. 12:05 Partial Minimalist Shoe Definition Minimum motion control Minimum cushioning Minimum drop Minimum arch support Minimum midsole Full Minimalist Shoe No motion control No cushioning Zero drop No arch support No midsole Basically any shoe you can twist or roll up easily 13:40 Ground Reaction Force with: Rear Foot Strike Mid Foot Strike Fore Foot Strike Graph demonstrate how quickly force rises to peak and the Rear Foot Strike is much faster and heavier than a forefoot strike 15:30 Even with a highly cushioned midsole and heel, the striking force is much higher with a highly cushioned sole than with a standard Neutral Shoe With the ability to perceive correct feedback the legs are quite capable of acting like springs to soften landing forces. 16:00 Differences between impact force over the 3 different types of foot wear Barefoot runners will not land on their heels as the padding of the heel is only designed to take the impact of moving at walking pace and there is instant feedback when running barefoot. 17:00 Collected data from 2015 Boston Marathon with 3 runners wearing ankle bracelets measuring shock (acceleration) in G's (gravity) It is agreed though that it is counter-intuitive that the less cushioning you have the softer you land, but the case is the exact opposite. You run much lighter if you have less cushioning. 18:50 Irene Sprague Davis believes "that the closer we can get to the way we were adapted to walk and run, the lower our risk for injury". 19:10 Why can't you learn to run on your forefoot in cushioned shoes. Short answer = It does not work. The cushioning takes away the feedback that allows your legs to function properly and you still end up landing hard and you do not learn to (over a period of time) to automatically land softer. 20:00 Demonstration and explanation of nice barefoot running in slow motion 20:35 Barefoot running style requires strong feet and strong ankles and mobility in the feet and ankles. 20:45 Solutions to make feet strong & healthy Don't wear shoes as a child Stretching with ball, bottle or massage with fingers the sole and arch of foot Stretching the top of your foot Stretching heel chords 22:20 Strengthening (ALL DONE BAREFOOT) Towel Curls pulling towel forward towards heel with toes only and no other foot movement The Short Foot exercise. Lots of videos on KZfaq. Stiffen toes, pull ball of foot back to create a bigger arch. If you cramp, it means your feet are very weak. Doming & hopping with ankles only Toes spread with elastic band Toes squeezing Double Leg progressing to Single Leg Heel raises, then doing it on an edge of a step Doming and hopping forward & back, side to side, double foot then single foot then to raised surfaces 27:15 SKIPPING BAREFOOT (Who would have thought???) as advised by the Director of the Spaulding National Running Centre, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School. What would she know??? 🙄 My notes; There are a lot of KZfaq videos that explain the exercises for strengthening the feet, as well as how you use the feet and legs, and the time frame to move to a minimalist/barefoot running style. I do not care about whether you can run barefoot or not, but all the solutions to barefoot running will, with no doubts whatsoever, deliver exemplary outcomes for tennis footwork improvement! 28:00 Over a 6 month period of Barefoot/Minimalist Shoe running COMBINED with foot strengthening exercises increased muscle mass & strength of feet and legs. 28:30 Can Flat Weak Arches be changed? Short answer is yes if you have a good process for improvement that is followed with commitment and discipline, even when it looks like a lost cause! 28:45 2300 Indian Children from 3 different communities. 1 community open toed shoes, 1 community wore closed towed shoes, 1 community went bare foot Flat foot was most common in children who wore closed-shoes, less common in those who wore sandals or slippers and least in the unshod. Findings suggest that shoe-wearing in early childhood is detrimental to the development of a normal longitudinal arch. 29:20 Take away support to let the foot develop Encourage foot stability by removing support unless very injured and use support only as a temporary fix. 30:10 A quick study in elderly ladies where half got standard walking shoes and the other half got minimalist shoes. The minimalist shoes wears got improved knee mechanics, improved function and reduced use of pain medication. 31:00 The story of another pair of feet 50 year old lady with very bad history with her feet is now only comfortable in minimalist shoes and is able to walk the 26 mile Inca Trail (very rough terrain) in minimalist shoes Take home message. Give feet a chance. 32:00 Time for a paradigm shift Rather than support and cushioning the foot, we need to leverage the strength and cushioning we have in our feet. 26 bones 33 articulations 4 Layers of muscle Create a 6 Pack for your feet "Our world is not shaped by those that think similarly, but by those that dare to think differently" Rashida Rowe 33:00 Question & Answer time Q1. Many Runners tend to supinate, distributing their weight to the edges of their feet. Are there any long-term injury risks to this? 34:10 Q2. Might you have to alter your methods when teaching proper running technique to an older individual? (Watch this answer, lots of good info here) 36:00 Q3. What would you recommend for a person that neither is nor aspires to be a runner, but simply wants to combat the effects of aging? 38:40 Q4. What do you wear when there's three feet of snow on the ground? 39:10 Q5. Do the same principles apply to hiking? 40:20 Q6. Just as our feet didn't evolve to be concealed in comfortable shoes, they also didn't evolve in a landscape dominated by concrete. Can you talk about the effects of walking on hard surfaces? 41:45 Q7. Do you have any recommendations for people who are already avid runners and want to incorporate minimal shoes into their routines? 44:00 Q8. Will the developing technology yield newer models of minimal shoes that allow us to run even more naturally? Thank You

Very informative video

Add a little dancing in your life, even if it's just going from your bed to get your coffee in the morning.

thank you, great presentation and information

I think what they should do, is open more "barefoot parks," like the ones they have in Germany, to promote sensory development of the human foot...

Amazing talk. Great to learn something new. Didn't know how damaging shoes are. Going to defo save up and buy barefoot shoes 😁

Damn, this was posted 5 years ago and I just stumbled upon it! Just ordered a pair of barefoot shoes, gonna give them a go!

I've been wearing barefoot shoes for years, but have only recently realised the importance, for me at least, of splaying the big toes while walking. Very few barefoot shoes allow you to do this, which may be partly why Davis advocates sandals, but the Sofstar Wide models are designed for it. So how might the 'technology' of barefoot shoes improve to facilitate better walking and running? Like this: by better understanding how much toe space it actually takes to bring our abused feet back to their optimal shape. This seems to be a major blindspot in barefoot shoe design at the moment, as if even there everyone's so conditioned to the big toe's support function being diminished that they haven't even realised how wrong it is. Just walking with the big toes fully splayed has removed my knee pain and the knock-on effect of twinges in my hip and soreness in my lower back, and it also seems to strongly elevate my mood. Now I'm finding, by doing the exercises in this video, that my left foot arch is quite weak, and strengthening it feels very related to getting it to splay more and also has a mood elevating effect. Thanks for the exercises!

I am a self-motivated newcomer in this arena. Today I walked briskly for 7 hours with the Indian sun right above my uncapped head. The tar was hot enough and our streets are generally rough with mini-pebbles. I fully comprehend how Phil Collins thought of the impoverised woman who had blisters on the soles of her feet, who couldn't walk but went on trying. I rejoice in this austerity which will reward me bountifully later. A retour to shoefullness would be abominable disgrace and defeat.

When it comes to competitive runners no matter the level they will always get injured as they will push themselves to the breaking point to improve and that can lead to injury.

I am 80 years old and always go barefoot at home. I have zero joint pain. All my friends wear heavily cushioned or orthopedic shoes and still have foot and knee pain. I tell them about going barefoot and they look at me like I'm crazy.

To add to the winter question's answer: Hard snow is a great surface to run on and you can do it with any basic training shoe, just dry them after your run. However if you don't intend in doing an intense activity like running, something like a mukluk would be best. In winter you'd actually want a thick sole to insulate you from the cold and a wide boot to fit big socks and not have your blood circulation restrained by a tight boot.

Good to know walking is heel strike phenomenon. I was walking funny with front foot strike

Thank you for this talk. Has there been any research on the optimal way to carry a thirty pound backpack for a thru hike ?

420 got me here today on this fine beautiful night. thank you for this info.

By On shoes. Cushioned for an urban environment, but it has slits that give, and feels like a glove

Great stuff. Stretching and strengthening starts ~ 21:00

Can you please do a study on standing on unnaturally hard surfaces lik concrete for 8 or more hours a day. I feel standing requires different support than walking and it makes your feet even more sore.

Who knew that my lack of consistency would be beneficial to my health? I've done some pretty intense physical stuff...only way to become a US Marine Infantry Officer. Nevertheless, I didn't go to the extreme in doing one thing, like runnjng, endlessly month in month out, year in year out.

What do you were in winter ? A pair of Manitobah Mukluks. Like walking barefoot in the snow whithout freezing

I use toe spacers to spread out my bare toes...After a few days of use, my toes can stretch out more...

Always barefoot when I was little, develop thick callous so could walk on broken glasses. That is little broken ones lay flat on ground, not jam my foot into it.

How do you strengthen hammertoes??

Great presentation with loads of good info. Only thing I have a reservation toward is when Dr. Irene Sprague Davis says that flip flops are good for your feet b/c you use your toe muscles to hold them on. I would disagree and say flip flops are a huge proponent of hammer toe and other foot disfunction.. Instead go for a sandal (key difference is having an ankle strap) to allow the big toe to properly fire.

the reasons we are fat is the foods we eat, nothing else is the cause. we're not supposed to eat vegetable oils, sugars, fiber or the amount of carbs that we eat. exercise is a help but it's not a solution.

Been watching a ton on barefoot shoes and people keep saying walk around your house barefoot. I'm like people wear shoes inside normally? I've never worn shoes inside a house lol

I thought was an audio book of born to run...

Ah yes. The barefoot and minimalist shoe movement. I remember you. Convinced me to start wearing minimalist shoes. I had no idea I had hollow feet. Switching to these minamalist shoes gave my feet plantar fasciitis, which I never had before. Had to buy orthopedic shoes just to walk again because of how bad it got. I wish I would have seen a doctor before choosing to listen to the hype. I have no doubt it works for some people, but for others, it can really jack your feet up.

Yeah. Tried all and still got plantar fasciitis with minimalist shoes. Didn't go away until I moved back to some boots and memory foam slippers around the house.

I found a difficult time to shop for shoe now.. the stack is getting scarier

the more support = more weakness

Xero and vivo make hiking and even cold weather shoes

That was the chunkiest shoe they could find. Five years on and we have rockered 40mm platforms with a carbon fibre plate in them.

Nike: "What kind of shoes can we sell you?" Runners: "Actually we run better barefoot. Your shoes just get in the way." Nike: "Hmmm.... BAREFOOT SHOES!"

Very interesting. I would not be surprised if Nike and Reebok are trying to silence people like this.

Love my toe shoes

*Me looking at my Asics as I'm working on transitioning to minimalistic shoes* -_- "You know what you did."

I love barefoot too

Can people with neuropathy wear barefoot shoes?

There is a fine line between new style hiking and ultra-marathon running. Both are a pretty far cry from real (traditional) hiking. Those who focus on trail miles, carry really small packs and such, fall into the runner category. Those who are adventure travelers and explorers fall into the backpacker category. The biggest problems are likely at the various overlaps. A backpacker who attempts too much trail speed and or too many miles is asking for trouble. Those in the runner category who attempt snowy mountain peaks in the wrong footwear are asking for trouble. Not being prepared for severe weather is asking for trouble. Many of the runner types make a beeline metaphorically speaking from one town or resupply point to the next and so on, just like in competitions, and it does work so long as conditions stay ideal and no injuries occur. Backpackers tend to be far better equipped for adverse situations, but their big danger comes from foolishly attempting to keep pace with one or more of the runner types. They both share the trails and at first glance it looks like they all are doing the same thing, but they are not. Future trail runners or backpackers would do well to fully acknowledge which category they are going for and be very wary of overlaps better suited to the other category.

Overpadded thick-soled footwear were a mistake...

Birds have wings, fish have fins, humans have butts

This woman is a runner?

I threw away my cushy shoes and my chronic back pain with them

I love barefoot

But we were made to run on grass and dirt, not CONCRETE! Hence padded shoes!

Water shoes, baby. I'm not spending $100 on running shoes ever again.

21:15 - 27:20 stretching /massaging tips

20:00 GOATA

Cool, just commenting for the algorithm.

living on perfectly graded asphalt in cityscapes will never serve us and we will never go back to an environment we evolved for🤷‍♂️

"Pigs who walk?". Thot all pigs walked 🤔

But our world wasn’t made out of concrete and asphalt back then. Woods and fields ground is much softer

Just wear converse

Do people really not perform “barefoot walking” around their house?

She's not a runner 🤨

Wow, I never realized americans wear shoes so much. No wonder their feet are so messed up.

yea the problem with that is all the parasites in the soil......im sure there is benefits from bare foot walking but be sure to wash the feet immediately after

*Okay what I would like you all to do is take your shoes off..*sniff* okay if you could all kindly put them back on........hurry *

if we should run barefoot why do all athletes use specialized footwear

Lol no. Just no. Men do not have a time of the month. Scientists inability to separate pc politics and actual science is destroying our nation.

Evolution! What a joke!

she tries to get credit for what christopher mc dougall has already exposed in his book "born to run"

We didn't need meat then nor now. Big lie

I love barefoot