(gross out warning)
A few days ago I shut my foot in a door in an alcohol related incident. I caught my big toe quite badly and was reduced to a swearing hopping mess. The nail went black pretty much instantly and it took me a few minutes to work out I hadn't actually broken anything.
Now here's where my question comes. After about 10 mins the pain abated and I wasn't that worried about it. Today the whole nail fell off right down to the nail bed. I am feeling no real pain and it hasn't affected my barefoot lifestyle. However I am pretty sure that if I wasn't a habitual barefoooter I would still be limping. It made me think. A couple of weeks ago I cut the heel of my right foot on a particularly sharp stone but carried on walking and after the initial ouch wasn't too concerned.
So... does being unshod make your feet less sensitive to things that would have the average Joe hobbling about and if it does, does that mean that a barefooter is at risk of doing some serious harm without realising the magnitude of what thy have done?
A few days ago I shut my foot in a door in an alcohol related incident. I caught my big toe quite badly and was reduced to a swearing hopping mess. The nail went black pretty much instantly and it took me a few minutes to work out I hadn't actually broken anything.
Now here's where my question comes. After about 10 mins the pain abated and I wasn't that worried about it. Today the whole nail fell off right down to the nail bed. I am feeling no real pain and it hasn't affected my barefoot lifestyle. However I am pretty sure that if I wasn't a habitual barefoooter I would still be limping. It made me think. A couple of weeks ago I cut the heel of my right foot on a particularly sharp stone but carried on walking and after the initial ouch wasn't too concerned.
So... does being unshod make your feet less sensitive to things that would have the average Joe hobbling about and if it does, does that mean that a barefooter is at risk of doing some serious harm without realising the magnitude of what thy have done?