2024-07-11 05:58:52
The barefoot walking craze is here. It’s not just a phenomenon in our country. In Australia and New Zealand, where the barefoot walking culture is established, as well as in Europe and the United States, the number of people taking off their shoes is increasing.
What are the health benefits of walking barefoot? Let’s look at it from an orthopedic perspective, leaving aside the efficacy of yellow clay, which is particularly popular in Korea.
Shoes, a modern necessity with thick soles and high heels, may be the main cause of foot health problems.
According to a study published in the world-renowned scientific journal ‘Nature’ in 2021, people who wore minimal footwear (shoes that minimize interference with the natural movement of the foot by removing functional parts; characterized by flexibility and flat soles) and went about their daily lives for six months experienced an average increase in foot muscle strength of 57.4%. In addition, their sense of balance improved and the risk of falling was found to have decreased.
“Our feet are actually very strong and resilient and can handle the demands we put on them, but we don’t use them the way nature intended,” London-based podiatrist Lina Harris told National Geographic on Monday. “There are 33 joints in our feet, and our feet (with their arches) move in three different planes, so they have to adapt to the terrain we’re walking on,” she added.
However, modern shoes restrict natural movement patterns, affecting gait and foot structure.
“Most modern shoes are very narrow in the front, which forces the toes into a ball and prevents them from being able to properly press into the foot, which doesn’t utilize the intrinsic muscles of the foot,” Harris explains. Plus, cushioned midsoles (an extra layer of material added to the outer sole of a shoe to reinforce the sole) reduce sensory pressure, making it harder to feel the ground beneath your feet. Over time, this can lead to poor posture, poor balance, and even collapse of the arches of the feet, which can lead to musculoskeletal disorders.
Our feet have adapted to cushioned shoes and have lost some of their original strength, so walking barefoot more often can help strengthen them.
But you have to give them enough time to adapt.
John Mercer, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV), advises taking it slow and taking it in small steps, saying, “If you switch to barefoot too quickly, you can overload muscles and tendons that you don’t normally use, which can lead to stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, and Achilles tendonitis.” He also advises that wearing minimalist shoes as an intermediate step can be helpful. He also advises that barefoot walking isn’t for everyone, and if it’s not for you, you don’t have to go barefoot.
Earlier in March, the American health information media outlet WellandGood introduced ‘three clear benefits of walking barefoot that will make you want to take off your shoes.’
First, improve posture and balance.
“Walking barefoot strengthens the muscles in your feet, which in turn helps you have better posture and balance throughout your body,” says podiatrist Dr. Miguel Cunha. It also improves proprioception (your ability to know where your body is in space), which helps you maintain good balance.
“Walking barefoot can stimulate receptors in the soles of your feet to increase proprioception, which can lead to improved awareness of body position, posture, and balance,” explains Dr. Cunha.
Second, strengthen your foot muscles.
Each of our feet contains 19 muscles and tendons, the strength of which plays a vital role in maintaining an upright posture.
“Walking barefoot on a soft surface can strengthen several muscles,” says Dr. Cunha. These include the intrinsic muscles associated with the arch of the foot, the anterior tibialis tendon at the front of the ankle, the plantar fascia, which connects the heel bone to the toes, and the Achilles tendon.
A small study published in October 2017 in the Science Citation Index journal Gait & Posture found that walking barefoot can help prevent the decline in muscle strength that comes with age, which is linked to a lower risk of falls. In other words, walking barefoot improves foot strength and balance, and reduces the risk of falls.
Third, stress is reduced through grounding, where the body comes into direct contact with the ground.
‘Grounding’ is also expressed as ‘earthing’, and the idea is that when the human body is connected to the Earth (standing barefoot on grass or sand), there is a positive effect on health. According to a paper published in the SCI-level academic journal ‘Journal of Inflammation Research’ in March 2015, grounding was shown to improve sleep disorders and cortisol (stress hormone) levels, reduce pain and stress, and speed up wound healing.
There are also some things to keep in mind. First of all, you should be careful about where you walk barefoot.
Dr. Bindya Gandhi, who is board certified in both family medicine and integrative medicine (integrating Eastern and Western medicine), acknowledges the benefits of grounding yourself in nature, but notes that you can’t expect the same benefits when walking in public spaces, like city centers.
“Walking barefoot on city streets can lead to infections and injuries, especially tetanus, which can occur when you step on nails,” he said. “You can also come into contact with various pathogens, such as parasites, which can cause confusion.”
Dr. Cunha recommends walking barefoot on soft dirt or grass, saying, “Hard surfaces can cause the arches of the feet to collapse and the plantar fascia to stretch. If there is a problem with the plantar fascia, it can cause pain and discomfort not only in the feet but throughout the body.”
Reporter Park Hae-sik, Donga.com [email protected]
2024-07-11 05:58:52