Two years ago I bought my first pair of barefoot shoes (no elevated heel, thin and ultra flexibel sole) after listening to an episode of TED Radio Hour, where they featured the talk “Born To Run” and started reading more about the whole idea. I started to learn how to walk forefoot strike and did a running course for how to run forefoot strike properly. This was the start of going down a never ending rabbit hole. Some of the things I learned during the past two years:
* Learning a new walking technique is super hard, it takes at least months, if not even years.
* Wearing barefoot shoes and walking forefoot strike seemed to significantly decrease my lower back pain (although I’m not a 100% certain if there is a correlation, I just know that my back pain decreased a few months after switching to barefoot shoes)
* Got rid of my neck pain completely (I’m extremely certain that there is a correlation here, because my posture changed, more on that in a later point)
* I realized that my leg muscles (especially hamstrings and calves) are extremely tight and possibly also shortened. In the beginning I had trouble to get my heel to the ground without feeling tension in the calves.
* Just because I adapted my style of walking, my posture increased significantly. I walk and stand way more upright than before (I compared recent pictures to older pictures)
* Significantly decreases the number of migraine attacks. I’m also quite sure this is because of the forefoot strike (although not 100% certain) since heel strike puts a lot of pressure in the neck and head. You can easily Test or experience this Stress on the neck and head yourself if you stick your fingers in your ears and walk barefoot with heel strike over firm ground. You should “hear” it. For me it works best when I put in noise cancelling over ear headphones and walk heel strike (no music, just the noise canceling effect).
Of course all of this is highly subjective and many/all things I described may not correlate at all. This is just my personal experience.
Fellow "minimalist" shoe walker/runner here. Running with a forefoot strike makes sense as the idea is to tilt forward slightly and basically use gravity to help pull you forward, naturally landing on your fore-to-midfoot. I cannot imagine how walking with a forefoot strike makes sense though? Do you also lean forward when you walk?
In addition, another benefit of running with a forefoot strike is to keep momentum while leaning forward and avoid jarring pressure going up your leg on each strike as you run. For example, if I try to land on my heel when running barefoot it physically does not feel right and when I do it the collision hurts. But walking barefoot and landing on the heel feels completely natural and pain-free - the step is very light and the contact point is maybe slight-heel-bias-to-midfoot, nothing like slamming a heel into the ground while running. When walking you do not create as much pressure through your heel unless you really stomp down on it for some reason.
We have some research showing potential benefits of running on your forefoot - does any such research exist for walking as well?
AFAIK (spouse is an OT, works with PTs, puts up with my barefoot nonsense & enjoys explaining biomechanics to me) forefoot walking is something to avoid. Leads to shortened calf muscles/tendons, can lead to problems in old age as balance degrades.
There's also some interesting anthropological work by Esther Gokhale about gaits in indigenous peoples indicating that heel-first walking is natural, but very different from the gait induced by cushy shoes - no slamming on the heel, place the front heel on the ground while the back foot still supports all of your weight. She does sell books and workshops, but I found her book at the library, tried out the exercises, seemed legit.
Anyway, YMMV! Don't take my word for it; check out the primary sources, etc. If forefoot walking works long term for you, then go for it - one of my in-laws only walks on her forefeet /shrug.
Please take my reply with a grain of salt, it's subjective and not backed by any research.
Is it really the case that you lean slightly forward when walking forefoot strike? For me it's the opposite, my posture is way more upright in forefoot strike than it is in heel strike.
When I walk (or run) heelstrike, I usually put one leg forward and "fall" on that leg, which causes me to lean forward a bit.
When I walk (or run) forefoot strike, I do the opposite. I slide one leg backwards and thus push my whole body forward. My other leg lands directly under my body, I don't have to stick it out much to land on it, compared to heel strike.
Try to walk in heel strike very very slowly (like in slo-mo), maybe you'll feel that "falling" sensation and lean forward like I do. But it could also be that you walk slightly different than I do and don't experience the same.
Unfortunately I'm not aware of any research, but I also don't actively search for it.
> Learning a new walking technique is super hard, it takes at least months, if not even years.
I guess that this might strongly vary with age. Anecdotally, the two times I consciously adapted a new gait, it went pretty quick:
- At around age 13 I adapted a "bouncy" gait with outward pointing toes, because I thought that it looked cook (cringe). Took about a week IIRC.
- Around 17 I switched to what I would call a standard gait (toes pointed straight ahead), because I was afraid my previous gait would cause bowlegs (probably an unfounded fear). Took me about two days (with a lot of walking though), and also had the benefit of better posture in general
I remember watching this David Attenborough program where he was talking about the hunting techniques of some bushmen in Africa. They did a close-up shot of their feet while out on a hunt and they were wearing regular track shoes:
> * I realized that my leg muscles (especially hamstrings and calves) are extremely tight and possibly also shortened. In the beginning I had trouble to get my heel to the ground without feeling tension in the calves.
I recommend "Squat Clinic 101" video to address this issue
What brand did you buy ? The first result from google https://www.vivobarefoot.com/eu seem to have let go of the vibram finger look. Is it still the same thing ?
My first pair were the "Gobi 2" from Vivobarefoot. Later on, I also tried Zaqq and another brand I don't recall right now, but didn't like them since the toe box[0] was too small for me. My toes spread significantly since I started walking in barefoot shoes, so a big enough toe box is the most important factor for me.
The Vivo's are definitely not in the vibram five finger look, nor were other brands I tried.
[0] Toe box: Front part of the shoe, were the toes are. Here's a comparison of a regular shoe and a barefoot shoe. If you follow the link below, you can see that the toe box of the barefoot shoe is significantly wider.
https://www.botyluks.cz/user/documents/upload/Rozd%C3%ADl%20...
Go walk outside without them on something mildly unpleasant, like "chipseal" pavement or gravel for short distances - the increased feedback will encourage you to walk gently (advice stolen from Barefoot Ken Bob's book, which is rather nice).
Take it slow. Don't feel like you have to go 100% minimal-shoe all the time. Take your shoes off at home. Maybe get a pair of thin sandals - I personally like Xero Shoes (they also sell a kit if you're into that, and they're one of the only pairs of sandal I've had that actually last for multiple years). Moccasins are also lovely, if you can find some with a thick sole (or buy some buffalo hide and DIY!).
Minimal shoes don't last any longer and generally aren't any cheaper than regular shoes in my experience - getting comfortable with your feet on the ground when possible is the cheapest long-term option.
Find somewhere where the ground isn't artificial and walk around in bare feet. How you walk changes very much when the ground isn't a firm flat plane with shoes on.
As obvious as it may sound, just buy a pair of barefoot shoes. Go into a store close to you and ask the staff for help choosing the right shoe for you. Definitely get some insoles for the shoes as well (since the sole is usually very thin). This reduces the stress on the sesamoid bones (I think they're called like this) a lot in the beginning.
Then just start walking outside. Watch some youtube videos on how to do it and just experiment and adjust the way you walk all the time (to give you a bit of perspective, occasionally I even play around with my walking style today, 2 years after starting). I tried to see it a bit like a stretching exercise in the beginning. If I felt a stretch of tight muscles (usually calves), I assumed that "I did it correctly"; like in stretching, where you only feel a deep stretch if you do it correctly. But important note: This only worked for me because my calves were indeed tight. If this is not the case for you, this analogy won't work for you.
But most importantly, listen to your body(!) and don't be afraid to look stupid in public (experimenting with your way of walking, while learnign a new way walking, will definitely get noticed by others the beginning; at least that was the case for me).
Keep in mind that it might just be a trend, cause damage, and keep you from running long distances. It's good for selling products and courses, if you want to go that route though.
* Learning a new walking technique is super hard, it takes at least months, if not even years.
* Wearing barefoot shoes and walking forefoot strike seemed to significantly decrease my lower back pain (although I’m not a 100% certain if there is a correlation, I just know that my back pain decreased a few months after switching to barefoot shoes)
* Got rid of my neck pain completely (I’m extremely certain that there is a correlation here, because my posture changed, more on that in a later point)
* I realized that my leg muscles (especially hamstrings and calves) are extremely tight and possibly also shortened. In the beginning I had trouble to get my heel to the ground without feeling tension in the calves.
* Just because I adapted my style of walking, my posture increased significantly. I walk and stand way more upright than before (I compared recent pictures to older pictures)
* Significantly decreases the number of migraine attacks. I’m also quite sure this is because of the forefoot strike (although not 100% certain) since heel strike puts a lot of pressure in the neck and head. You can easily Test or experience this Stress on the neck and head yourself if you stick your fingers in your ears and walk barefoot with heel strike over firm ground. You should “hear” it. For me it works best when I put in noise cancelling over ear headphones and walk heel strike (no music, just the noise canceling effect).
Of course all of this is highly subjective and many/all things I described may not correlate at all. This is just my personal experience.