Barefoot running with a club foot?

[Bodil P]

I’m born with a clubfoot (left foot) and got surgery to extend my achilles tendon when I was 6 month old. It had the side effect that one of my bones ”fell down” in the foot, so where normal feet have the arch my foot is ”bulging out” because of the bone which is placed wrong. It’s also this part of the foot I’m walking on and my toes are bended inwards and downwards in order to reach the ground. Furthermore my left leg is shorter (1½ cm) leading to mild scoliosis.

I’m running pretty well anyway and I like it. I did gymnastics for 10 years as a kid and this was always barefoot (and inside of course) but now I’ve shifted to several other sports, including biking, athletics and running. Now I run in cushioned shoes with customized insoles and extra height in the left shoe but I’ve considered starting running barefoot. I do not intent to shift completely but just as a supplement to strengthen my feet and improve my running technique.

Is this advisable or should I keep my shoes with the extra height on in order to spare my back?

 

[Dr. Andrew Klein]

Hi Bodil, and welcome!There

Hi Bodil, and welcome!

There is probably not an easy answer for you, but I’ll do my best!

First, since I don’t exactly know the current structure of your foot I really hesitate to comment directly on saying it is fine to run barefoot or not. Barefoot running relies on proper function of your natural shock absorption system to reduce force. Drastic changes in structure probably don’t allow for normal function. Now, I realize I’m not telling you anything new. The fact that you used to do gymnastics is at least encouraging, but a nice gymnastic mat is a far cry from a concrete, asphalt, or dirt surface. So my gut reaction is to advise against it, but I hesitate to discourage anyone from anything they want to try. If you decide to give it a try I cannot stress enough the importance of starting slowly. Do some barefoot walking for short periods of time on the surfaces you plan on running on and see how it goes. The bones of your feet that do act as your support base won’t just fall apart; they will be thick in the right spots to deal with stride forces. Wolff’s law says that if you put stress on a bone, it gets thicker and stronger. That doesn’t mean you are impervious to stress reactions or stress fractures more than anyone else however. You can do a lot of barefoot strengthening just by balancing barefoot, picking up objects with your toes, and hopping in place. Click on the library tab above and scroll down to the “Getting Started” section for some more information.

The answer to your spine question really depends on how the barefoot walking and beginning of running goes. 15 mm is certainly a large discrepancy, but I’m assuming you have reached skeletal maturity and are not seeing any scoliosis progression and are not currently experiencing a lot of pain. I have lots of patients with varying degrees of scoliosis and they are limited only by what they want to do. It is important to keep your core strong, and keep all the vertebrae moving. Vertebrae that are moving and not fixated are more able to deal with force, even abnormal force. To keep them moving, make sure a chiropractor is on your list of health care providers.

Assuming you do try some barefoot running as a supplement and it goes fine with your foot, keeping your spine mobile and functioning should help to diminish or prevent any pain.

This is a great question, though my answer is mostly academic. If you do try some barefoot running, please keep us posted on your results!

 

[Bodil P]

Thank you for the answer!I

Thank you for the answer!

I can tell that I have no problems or any pain at all related to my foot, hips or spine, even though I'm asymetric. It's only in my running shoes and walking boots I have some height correction, all my everyday shoes are competely normal. I try to keep in a generally good shape in order to avoid any problems and till now it's worked out fine.

I'm pretty used to walking barefoot (especially in sand, since I was told as a kid that it was good for my foot) and I often train my feet and my balance, so I'll try to give the barefoot running a shot. And of course be very careful and start out slowly.

Again, thanks for the answer, it was very useful.

 

[Dr. Andrew Klein]

You are welcome!  Good luck!

You are welcome! Good luck!

 

[migangelo]

Michael Sandler has a

Michael Sandler has a titanium hip and femur. his leg is visibly one inch shorter than the other. he found the only way he could run, at all, was to go bare. he wrote a book and tours the world now. i can't comment on what you can do but it seems people always find a way even if the doc tells them "you can never....".



Mike