Vibram Five Fingers

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What's the most beneficial footwear to run in? Danny Rose investigates no matter whether less is extra.
While there's small doubt about the well being benefits of running, the question of what we ought to wear on our feet is less clear-cut.

On-line running forums are abuzz with the concern of going "barefoot" or as close as achievable, while sports providers have responded with new lines of shoes stripped of the capabilities they've spruiked for years.

(Nike's "Free" range of shoes, as an example, promises a "more barefoot-like fit").

A new type of minimalist running shoe - barely more than padded gloves for the feet - called the Vibram Five Fingers has recently been noticed on those grinding out laps on the nation's jogging tracks.

The modifications have been sparked by growing concern that the generous cushioning provided by contemporary running shoes may perhaps encourage a style of running that isn't biomechanically natural, and could result in injuries.

Dr Craig Richards says humans all through the ages ran mostly on the ball or mid-soles of their feet, and it was the invention of contemporary sport shoes that first allowed runners to hit the ground heel-first.

"You take shoes off folks and they commence landing on the outside of their forefoot - virtually no one lands on their heel when they are running unless they've got a cushioned shoe," says Richards, a senior lecturer at the University of Newcastle's School of Medicine and Public Wellness.

"There in no way has been any basis, theoretical or otherwise, to recommend that suddenly we ought to all start running on our heels."

Richards presented his concerns in a paper published within the British Journal of Sports Medicine last year.

But he's quick to add that it is no slam dunk for the "barefoot community" - there is an equal lack of study to support the use of minimalist shoes.

Instead, Richards says all shoe options really should be seen as "experimental".

"In terms of the average recreational runner ... most would have no concept, I believe, that what they are running in is experimental," he says.

"It may have been in use for 30 years VIBRAM FIVEFINGERS SPRINT WOMEN BLUE/WHITE, and price a lot of money but it is just as experimental as the Vibram Five Fingers that someone may well run past and ask 'What the hell are those?"'

Richards, who admits he runs in a minimalist shoe, says the debate is no longer confined to the ################ fringes of the running community.

There is a "strong trend of small businesses bringing out minimalist-style running shoes"; meanwhile "more and far more people are taking up barefoot or minimalist-style running".

"But there's no clear evidence of the will need for that," he says.

"And we're at risk of swinging from 1 untested paradigm to a second untested paradigm."

But Richards' paper hasn't gone down nicely with podiatrists.

Australasian Podiatry Council president and Sydney-based podiatrist Brenden Brown says there is plenty of anecdotal evidence supporting the use of diverse varieties of conventional running shoes.

As an example, shoes with additional support are known to benefit those with pronating feet, or support stop shin splints.

"Let's not throw out the baby with the bathwater ... if we can see anecdotally that this works then there's no have to have to in truth prove it," Brown says.

He also says lots of runners run "heel to toe" without having injury, and significantly much more study is needed just before podiatrists would be recommending a shift away from conventional running shoes.

"We do not have a position on barefoot versus conventional running shoes ... you could say the jury is out,"he says. "I'm not ready to say that barefoot running is bad but we do not want folks throwing out their runners just but."

Each are agreed on 1 factor. A decision to switch to a minimalist shoe shouldn't be taken lightly and any change really should be introduced slowly to stay clear of placing extra demands on weaker muscles within the feet and legs and potentially leading to injury. FiveFingers NZ runs "natural running" workshops to help runners make the transition.

Richards also says the debate shouldn't discourage people from improving their overall well being and fitness having a standard run. "Absolutely VIBRAM FIVEFINGERS SPRINT WOMEN BLUE/WHITE, running is a superb physical exercise," he says. "It's larger than any of the team sports, it truly is affordable, straightforward, and time efficient mainly because it is possible to do it as soon as you step out of your front door."
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