My enthusiasm for running barefoot? Here's why ...

I'm in a graduate program with an orthopaedic focus and the current class is taught by an MD who is experienced in orthopaedics. He's personable, energetic, makes the topic interesting and the classroom atmosphere interactive. Being an orthopaedic class, he was teaching about arthritis and mentioned a couple times that active individuals should use cushioned shoes to help prevent osteoarthritis. I talked to him after class and asked if he would read a couple articles and let me know his opinion. He already knew that I'm a barefoot runner because I mentioned it as something interesting about myself during introductions (it's about the only thing that's really interesting about me! I'm a fairly conventional and conservative guy - except for that.) It took me a week to actually email the articles to him, but after writing the email I thought it could double as my first blog ever. Maybe it'll interest - or even encourage - someone here! We'll see.

The articles I attached for him to read are:

Richards CE, Magin PJ, Callister R. Is your prescription of distance running shoes evidence-based?Br J Sports Med. 2009;43(3):159-162. Available at:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18424485. Accessed September 12, 2010.

and

Lieberman DE, Venkadesan M, Werbel WA, et al. Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners.Nature. 2010;463(7280):531-535. Available at:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20111000. Accessed September 12, 2010.

Here's what I wrote him:



Dr. _,

It took me a few days to find pdf copies of the articles I want to share - plus I had abunch of homeworkkeeping me busy! Teasing!

Anyway, maybe you could see my enthusiasm for running barefoot? Here's why ... I've been interested in being fit and in good shape since high school, which has been quite a few years. My first undergrad degree is in exercise science (exercise physiology), so I was fairly serious about itat least during one portion of my life. I've especially enjoyed running, partly because it's so accessible. No special equipment or facilities arereallyneeded. Just walk out the door and go! However,recentconventional wisdom says you need good shoes - replaced every 300 miles or so. I was taught this in college 25 years ago and believed it. (By recent conventional wisdom I mean in the last 35 years.)

Two years ago I was running about 10 miles per week, usually 3 to 3.5 miles at a time, rarely going over that and it was all in typical running shoes (cushioned sole, elevated heel). The running was making my hip joints ache. I don't remember when the aching started; it developed gradually over a few years. It wasn't really painful during a run, but mostly afterward. I especially noticed it at night, I suppose because I was still - no distractions. By summer 2009 I was taking pain meds to get to sleep, and realized this wasn't a good thing. I figured I had to quit running or do something different or I'd end up with hip replacements in the next decade, and I don't want that in spite of working at a company that makes orhtopaedic implants!

In my search for options I stumbled upon the fact that there are many people who run barefoot because something about it alleviated their running injuries and pains. The number is in the thousands at this point, not millions or anything like that, but it's more than a few anecdotal stories. One of the most convincing aspects of the info I found is that there is quite a number of peer reviewed articles that relate to this topic one way or another. It's not nearly enough, and I'd like to see more, but those that exist are compelling. From several of the articles I learned that the biomechanics of running barefoot is usually different than running in shoes. Running barefoot teaches you to absorb the shock with muscles. Running in shoes is more likely to stress the skeletal system, especially the joints since that's where the skeletal system can "give" or absorb shock.

When I started barefoot running two summers ago I had to start over - to learn to run differently from what I was accustomed to. It took several weeks for my soles to evenbeginto get used to it, but that was good as it kept me from over-doing it. I think the slow progress helped prevent injury. After one month I could run one mile barefoot. At three months I ran a "long run" of nine miles with no discomfort and absolutely no hip pain, whatsoever. That was fun!Prior to that I was enduring the hip pain just to run 10 miles in a week. I was hooked.

Now I average 16 miles a week. My "long runs" - usually every other weekend - are 10 to 15 miles. (I've learned that a "long run" is very subjective. For some, 15 miles isn't long at all; for others, 5 miles is very long.) My longest run to date is 18 miles. The best part is that since I started barefooting, I've hadno hip pain- none at all. Running barefoot gave me my running back, times two. It taught me to run in a way that will keep my joints healthy. Plus, it's fun. It's worth being enthusiastic about!

The two articles, attached, are favorites. I'd be interested in your opinion about the information in them.

In case you're interested, the author of the foot strike article has a website that provides more info, at: http://www.barefootrunning.fas.harvard.edu/4BiomechanicsofFootStrike.html

If you're even more interested, let me know. I can point you to several lists of peer reviewed articles.

And btw, don't feel obligated to agree with my opinion. If you disagree, it's fine with me. I won't be devastated, I promise. I'm perfectly capable and willing to agree to disagree. I fully admit that my opinion is mostly based on my own experience. Even though it's nice to have some academic writings that seem to back-up my opinion, it's still very subjective.

Thanks for reading!

Mark

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Tender Toes Mark
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