Hi everyone, it's Bretta Riches from RunForefooot.com and today I'm going to be
talking to you about how going barefoot boosts circulation in the feet which
translates into sustainable foot strength, putting an end to achy, weak
crippled feet. Going barefoot really does live up to what it's supposed to do and
that is it directly and immediately accelerates foot strength better than
any running shoe can do. Unfortunately, however when it comes to sore feet many
people have been doing the wrong thing and that most people wear incredibly
stiff, cushioned narrow, arch supportive running shoes which remodels the feet in
plays into poor foot strength and function. This is why traditional running
shoes, used as a first line of treatment of poor foot function and strength, is
risky because in these shoes the infrastructure of the foot becomes
progressively weak, leading to widespread atrophy or withering away of the foot
muscles and soft tissues within the foot which trigger achy-feeling feet and deep
muscle pain within the foot. Not to mention it's provable that you end up
with weaker feet the more you wear traditional cushioned running shoes, again
because motion control, arch supportive, stiffly-structured running shoes
fundamentally undermines natural foot function thereby changing the
architecture of foot muscles and even more important, and this is what really
goes underappreciated, is that traditional running shoes leads to
weaker feet by changing the activity pattern of the foot nerves in every
measure. So let me make this very clear that the traditional running shoe
really tears at the proper function of the feet by causing nerve function
abnormalities in the foot and weak poorly functioning foot muscles may be a
consequential byproduct of that and here's why. The nerves that line the
bottom of the feet are essentially the fundamental force that holds foot
strength together and dictates and mediates overall foot strength. And
these nerves play an integral part of stimulating stronger foot muscles. This
is the role barefoot running plays in providing the natural resources in terms
of sensory energy or sensory input that feeds your feet and positive
developments in foot strength will come out of barefooting because when you're
barefoot outdoors, one of the signatures of being barefoot outdoors is a
tremendous level of sensory processing in the nerves in the sole of the feet
whereby the excitability or activity level of these nerves can either
increase or decrease blood flow to surrounding tissues and muscles within
the foot. What this means is that the activity of the nerves that line the
bottom of the foot regulates blood flow to deeper tissues, allowing them to
receive nourishing blood, but the key is that barefooting is of special
importance because the research is filled with many concrete examples of
how the nerves in the bottom of the feet are most activated when you're barefoot,
therefore when you go barefoot, the ongoing sensory assistance helps you
have more blood delivered to the soft tissues and muscles in the foot, thereby
creating conditions for sustainable growth in foot strength and function. It
turns out however, your foot strength is very limited by your footwear. Certain
footwear, I'm actually referring to the traditional running shoe more so than
minimalist/barefoot running shoes, how the traditional running shoe robs the
foot of its strength is that in these shoes the nerves that line the bottom of
the feet are sitting quietly waiting to detect the sensory input that they're
normally and naturally thirsty for and this is where poor foot strength stems
from is the excessive impairment in nerve processing and the lack of nerve
excitability fails to fully serve the muscles and tendons with oxygen rich and
nutrient rich blood that is so necessary for proper foot
strength and function. In traditional running shoes, since there's less sensory
exchange and nerve activation, could cause inappropriate opening or closing
of blood vessels which could rob the deep muscle tissues within the foot of
proper blood flow and nourishment. For the moment, this is how foot problems may
arise in traditional running shoes simply because the nerves that line the
soles of the feet are under-active which alters or hinders blood circulation,
leaving the muscles in the feet deprived of energizing oxygen-rich blood. This is
why going barefoot more often is such a constructive force because it boosts
nerve and blood vessel engagement which has a strong muscle strengthening
component that cannot be matched by the traditional running shoe which taints
nerve activity, causing a blizzard of problems within the foot/ankle complex,
but by increasing your outdoor barefoot, activity certainly allows the sensory
input window to be widely open to get the foot muscles more engaged in a more
healthy way than being in cushioned running shoes which essentially creates
a physiological atmosphere of diminished nerve activity that would sequence under-
engaged, under-active foot muscles, leading to a collection of foot pain and
discomfort. So, that's really the meat behind how the nerves in the feet are
really the true spark that brings a lot of strength and vitality to the foot
muscles on many fronts. For more information on barefoot running vs.
running in shoes or shod running, please visit my blog RunForefoot.com and don't
forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel to stay up to date on the proper
biomechanics of running. Thank you so much for listening or watching. Have fun
out there on the roads. Bye for now!