Skip to content
Spiral Staircase
Buy the book
Menu

Glossary

Minimal shoes and barefoot walking

Defined in topic 7

Footwear with little cushioning or raised heel, and going without. A 2010 study found that habitually barefoot runners landing on the forefoot produced impact peaks about three times lower than heel strikes, but a Cochrane review of 12 trials found no reduction in running injuries from any shoe type, and going shoeless or in socks indoors after 65 goes with sharply higher odds of a fall. With diabetes, numb feet, poor leg circulation or past foot ulcers, do not go barefoot or switch to minimal shoes without your clinician, and check your feet daily.

Published Updated

Graded claims that mention Minimal shoes and barefoot walking

  • Do barefoot shoes fix your feet?Probable for foot strength; unsupported for injury prevention.Evidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.

Where this comes from

In the reference topic that owns this term

Reference topic 7, The Foot That Forgot the Ground, states the mismatch as a card: what the system evolved to expect, what it gets instead, and what happens in the gap.

Mismatch card

What it expects

Bare or thinly shod feet on varied ground, working the arch and toes daily.

What it gets

Cushioned, arch-supported, toe-sprung shoes on flat floors from early childhood.

What happens in the gap

Less ground feel, softened impacts of unknown cost, likely weaker foot muscles and, in some studies, flatter arches; in old age, weak toes and poor balance are linked to falls.

The full card, and the topic behind it

What that chapter recommends

3 of the 5 graded recommendations in Reference topic 7, strongest evidence first. How the grades work.

  1. Train balance and strength, especially after 60

    StrongEvidence grade: Strong. Multiple randomized controlled trials, or consistent large cohort studies with a well-understood mechanism.

    At least three days a week, practice single-leg stands, stepping, sit-to-stand or Tai Chi, plus resistance work; progress for at least 12 weeks and keep going.

    Read it in full

  2. Safety

    StrongEvidence grade: Strong. Multiple randomized controlled trials, or consistent large cohort studies with a well-understood mechanism.

    Up to half of people with diabetes have peripheral neuropathy. With diabetes, numb feet, poor leg circulation or past foot ulcers, do not go barefoot or switch to minimal shoes without your clinician, and check your...

    Read it in full

  3. Give your feet work, gradually

    ProbableEvidence grade: Probable. Good observational evidence with a plausible mechanism, or small or few trials.

    Walk in flat, flexible shoes with room for the toes, starting with about 30 minutes a day and building wear time over about 16 weeks. Or do foot exercises (toe curls, arch doming) at least five days a week.

    Read it in full

Related terms

The argument behind this term, its studies and its notes are in Reference topic 7 of the reference library. The book gives the practical version. Get the book.