Foot advice

[Odineeus]

I’ve been walking barefooted/with sandals for the last half year and been greatly enjoying it, it alleviated many of the pains of wearing shoes, like a pain shooting up my leg after prolonged walking.

But recently i saw a foot therapaut and he said after examining my feet ‘‘Not wearing shoes is the best way to go, but your feet are too ruined for this’’, and he recommended a pair of stiff, ugly monstrosities of jogging shoes that might make this right after a while. He also told me to walk on my heel.

Now, of course you don’t know how my feet are, but i’d like to know if i should trust this man. Should i don these monstrosities in the hope that it might heal my feet, or continue not wearing shoes at all? I’d be especially interested in hearing fro those that have healed their feet by walking shoeless, and those that know a lot about feet… Help! :-\

[Urban_Scout]

that rings of bullshit to me. i think that people like that have an agenda; so sell shit.

You can correct the way you walk, which would correct your feet. I’m sure there are other foot specific exercises that could help.

What do you mean when you say heal your feet? What ailments do you experience?

[chase]

Let me get this strait. Your feet had problems from wearing shoes, then you stopped wearing shoes and the problems went away. Now, a medical professional tells you your feet are ruined? Doesnt compute.

[lefthandedspider]

Ive noticed that this is an incredibly old thread but this is an issue that I have recently explored and I believe that going barefoot is the absolute best way to heal your feet. Ive had foot ailments as well, all however, were caused by shoes or boots. I have found that going mostly barefoot provides the best relief of all my foot related complaints. Of course there are some times that you cannot/should not be barefoot so I often carry sandals clipped on my belt or in a bag, then when I go into a shop or a chemically contaminated area I can just pop them on and off. I also have found success with a certain company’s “barefooting alternative” which is reminiscent of a toe-sock with a thin rubber sole. I do, however, feel that these as well as sandals should be purely supplementary/transitory and that barefoot adaptation and development should be the main intention. I believe that going barefoot provides healthier, natural movement and also deepens one’s connection with the earth. Going barefoot will strengthen and revive foot muscles, gone dormant from years of shoe dependance, which in turn, also activates dormant parts of the brain opening the doors to unlimited potential.

[Aurora]

I have done a lot of barefoot walking this year and found it really nice. I don’t know if it healed any trouble, though thinking of it, I used to have some pain that I did not notice for the whole year now.
Ok, there is some pain in walking barefoot in many areas I tried, mainly paths that are gravelled. Or that creek valley I walked up recently in the mountains. Sometimes one can make awkward movements when stepping on a stone in the wrong way, so people who have weak muscles or tendons should take it easy at first.

But if one has been doing this for a while, I would not expect any bad effects coming from that. So that doc is probably referring to previous foot problems that have not gone away completely yet, so he gives the solution he always gives in that case. The very least I would do in such a case is ask at least 1-2 other experts - or continue barefooting without his crap and then go back half a year later for a checkup and pretend you used the contraptions. I would LMAO if he would say then “see, it is better now thanks to my advice” and you could just bomb him with the fact that you did not follow it

I can imagine however that there are conditions resulting from anything like bad shoes, accidents etc that would make barefooting a bad choice. Like if you have ripped your tendons, having a leg that is shorter or any other more severe stuff.

[system]

I get cramps in my foot when walking along a rocky bank, the tendons of my foot curling in ways it isn’t used to get me good sometime. Probably need to take it easy and do more often, rather than just a crazy spurt all at once. I heard a way you can strengthen that muscle though is to try and crumple a piece of paper/newspaper with your foot.

[starfish]

A few years ago, I walked barefoot all summer. When the cold weather came back my shoes did not fit any longer. Has anyone else experienced this? Even shoes that are 2 or 3 sizes larger than my old size are too tight in the toe area and start to hurt after an hour or so.

I found one pair of boots that works for me, but they only go with jeans. For dry weather my solution is a pair of water shoes with the sides cut out at the place where they were too tight. Water shoes are a great alternative to tennis shoes if you are required to wear close toed shoes. The soles are very thin and flexible. I just wish that I could find a fashionable, comfortable pair of shoes for nice occasions.