Born to Run
So, you thought that this barefoot running was just the new vogue. Well, think again. Humans were born to run barefoot, a new study shows, and the foot and lower leg functions best when running barefoot.
A new study by Dr. Daniel Leiberman just published in Nature suggests that " the collision-free way that barefoot runners typically land is not only comfortable but may also help avoid some impact-related repetitive stress injuries".
From the journal Nature: "Before the introduction of modern padded running shoes in the 1970s, and for most of human evolutionary history, humans ran either barefoot or in minimal shoes. A comparison by Daniel Lieberman and colleagues of the biomechanics of habitually shod versus habitually barefoot runners now suggests that the collision-free way that barefoot runners typically land is not only comfortable but may also help avoid some impact-related repetitive stress injuries. Kinematic and kinetic analyses show that modern shoes allow runners to land on the heel, as they do when they walk. Runners who don't wear shoes land more often on the ball of the foot or with a flat foot. This means that they often flex their ankles as they strike the ground and generate smaller impact forces than shod, rear-foot, strikers — compare the impact generated by landing from a jump on your heel versus your toes."
Shoes like Newton promote and facilitate a more natural running gait... give it a try!
Listen to the NPR report on the study here.
