beeblebrox wrote:Sanghamitta wrote:all orthopaeds are seeing increasing numbers of people in their forties who have been jogging on a regular basis for a decade or more and who " have tremendous cardiac and pulmonary health but wrecked knees , hips, and ankles, and advanced osteoarthritis ". "They have", he added "the joints of sixty year olds ".
Of course... without shoes on I think you're more sensitive to how (and where) you land, and therefore you'll run much more gingerly, and with a better technique. With the pillows on you're just pounding on the ground, running with over-extended strides, oblivious to the effects that these have on your body. By the way, for most people, their arches will strength more if they regularly walk barefoot. Of course the exceptions are flat-footed and high arched... those are medical conditions.
I heard that flip-flops aren't good for feet... sandals (or barefooted) are better.
I ran a lot as a kid [in summer]. I ran for fun, across the large, uneven lawn, down our long gravel driveway, up the hill in the orchard and back down again, out the winding field road and back. Barefoot mostly, shoes made it more difficult. I didn't like running in flip flops because the flip flopping slowed me down and made it awkward; too much foot dynamics involved in keeping them from flying off. Running in shoes caused sore feet and slowed me down, they don't allow the foot to curve as it is designed. I have never had problems with my skeletal structure. I am NOT one in a million.
Look under any vehicle and you will see that it is supported by leaf springs. These springs are designed similar to, but much simpler than a foot. The difference between running barefoot and running in shoes is like riding in a car as designed and riding in one without springs. That hammering you feel in the car without springs is similar to the hammering that you submit your skeleton and its joints to when running in shoes.
Today I jog a couple miles a day ~5 days/week. I wear "running" shoes. I pay special attention to how I land on the ball of my foot in order to make use of my springs. The shoes protect my 50 year old feet from dog-do and sharp pebbles and make my feet a little sore by not allowing them to flex as they should and keep them warm in cool/cold weather. I think when the weather warms next Spring I will go back to running as I did in my childhood days, bearing through that first week or two it takes to toughen up the feet to sharp pebbles and thistles.
Without having brainwashed us into thinking we need big dollar shoes in order to "protect" us from running, shoe companies and Tiger Woods would not make the big money that they do.
-Jeff