Sweep me off my feet

Want to make me do an old school face palm? Tell me how you need “support” from your shoes.

What kind of support? Structural? Spousal? Emotional?

Once upon a time sneaker engineers tried to outsmart evolution and fix our feet by adding a raised heel, air blown rubber, increased cushioning, thick tread, and support (via dual density foot bridges and rigid soles).

And the rate of foot and leg injuries stayed the same.

The engineers ignored the fact that our feet, which have evolved over millions of years, are mostly bony, very flexible and don’t have much natural cushioning.

Your feet are amazing. They are strong, flexible and if you take care of them you won’t need any sort of support from any sneaker whatsoever. From ‘Built to Move’ by Kelly & Juliet Starret:

“There may be times when some artificial support is warranted due to injury or extreme foot pain, but to wear supports for life is like spraining your arm and continuing to wear a sling when it heals.”

If we don’t need support what do we need?

Strength- Spend time bare foot, do calf raises, do some yoga (especially balance poses).

Foam roll- You roll out your hips, your glutes, your calves… why not your feet. Check out this short video to see how it’s done.

Mobilize your joints- We place between 1.5 (walking) to 6 times (running) the force of our bodyweight on our feet every day.The joints are under a lot of stress. Try drills like ankle tilts or toe pulls to keep the joints clear and healthy.

Now there’s no need to get drastic and throw out all your sneakers. Every running shoe is a good shoe… for someone. I love the Nike Free, but that means nothing ‘cause we have different feet. Find the right shoe for you (you’ll know it once you’ve worked out in it).

And take care of your feet.

They need your support.