- Steven E. Robbins and Adel M. Hanna.
"Running-related injury prevention through barefoot adaptations,"
Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise,
19(2), 1987, pp. 148-156.
A number of reports indicate an extremely low running-related
injury frequency in barefoot populations in contrast to reports
about shod populations.
...
Despite the modern engineered running shoe, a sports medicine
clinic reported a large series of running-related injury
referrals with an average weekly mileage at the time of injury
of 19 miles for women and 27 miles for men. Practitioners of
sports medicine have observed injuries in runners using every
shoe model available. The above reports can hardly be
considered an endorsement of the modern running shoe as a
protective device.
...
The opinion that the lower extremities are inherently fragile
goes against the authors' understanding of the concept of
natural selection.
...
The reports that the authors have received indicate a low
frequency of plantar fasciitis in barefoot populations.
...
A paradox in presented of lower extremity fragility associated
with the wearing of protective footwear and relative resistance
to injury in the barefoot or unprotected state. To explain this
paradox, the authors hypothesized that there exist adaptations
associated with barefoot activity that provide impact absorption
and protection against running-related injuries. An adaptation
involving foot arch deflection on loading is hypothesized to be
an important adaptation providing impact absorption. In
contrast, it is hypothesized that the known rigidity of the shod
foot may explain the reported high injury frequency in North
American runners.
...
The modern running shoe and footwear in general have
successfully diminished sensory feedback without diminishing
the injury inducing impact, a dangerous situation.
...
The arch support, which is present in all running footwear,
would interfere with the downward deflection of the medial arch
on loading. Furthermore, the use of orthodics, or other
structures that are fitted to the mold of the soft tissues of
the foot, could cause similar difficulty. Such designs occur
when an engineer looks at the foot as an inflexible lever which
is delicate and thus requires packaging. Various myths persist
about foot behavior due to poor understanding of its biology.
...
The solution to the problem of running-related injuries could be
as simple as promoting barefoot activity...
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Last updated: December 27, 1996