Barefoot Running

[KnottedYet]

Ok, so I just checked the bottom of my right foot. I do have some thick skin under the big toe and pinky, just like you said I would. But I only found a very tiny spot of thick skin (I'm talking like the size of a rice grain) under the 2nd toe...and nothing under the rest. I do religiously moisturize my feet, though...sometimes 2-3x per day...so perhaps that is why I'm not finding a lot of calloused skin. Even under the big & pinky toes, what thick skin there is...it isn't very much at all. I really had to feel around to find it.

So...based on this, does this still mean that I might have a dropped met head? Or could this possibly be something entirely different...like a neuroma, perhaps? Although I don't feel a lump or anything unusual underneath or between my 3rd & 4th toes...which are the 2 affected toes. My former podiatrist (he moved to another state) also indicated that he did not feel anything unusual and didn't think it was a neuroma...yet he still suggested using a metatarsal pad in my shoes (which I've been doing). So I'm very confused and frustrated....

Linda

Your podiatrist and I are on the same page.

Yes, that "grain of rice" is a little callus from a dropped met head. Obviously it's not a bad one: you don't have issues until you've been running more than 3 miles. So I wouldn't expect a sucker the size of your thumb (like mine was, and my toes were miserable sad creatures nearly all the time).

The dropped met head just means your metatarsal arch is sloppy. The muscles in there are either weak, or on vacation. You can help cue the arch by putting in a metatarsal button (arch support) that goes well behind the ball of your foot. (if you have a met cushion *under* the ball of your foot, I beg you to take it out for a couple weeks and see what happens)

When the metatarsal arch is squishing down, nerves that run between the "knuckles" of your toes get squished, too. You can have neurogenic pain from compressed nerves that feels exactly like a neuroma WITHOUT having a neuroma. You can have a functional problem, not a structural (fat lumpy irritated globby nerve body) problem, and still have similar sensations. (cyclists' "Hot foot" is a classic functional nerve compression problem)

The nerve getting squished may not necessarily be running along the dropped met head. The whole neighborhood is getting squished, it's just a matter of who squeaks first.

Somewhere around here is a detailed set of exercises I wrote up for a dropped met head. I think it was in a Morton's Foot thread. I'll go find it. ETA: here it is http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showp...2&postcount=40

And yes, dropped met heads sometimes go along with pronation posture issues, but they don't really fix themselves without some direct attention to the foot itself.

[KnottedYet]

Barefoot vs. VFF

VFF are shoes. In fact, they are shoes with the same thickness of sole and lack of support structure as the training and racing flats we wore back in the 70's. Nothing new there. (what is new is the toes, which I'll get into later) We ran looong distances and fast races in shoes very similar to VFF and Newtons, etc.

Big wedge heels and complex support structures have been the fashion for 30 years or so. I think we're seeing a backlash against that now.

Here's my opinion why: it is very hard to run in poor posture in training flats.

(Mind you, I think everything wrong with the universe is due to poor posture.)

Let me start off by throwing a metaphor into the mix.

Pretend we've got a teenager who slouches. Are we immediately going to give him pain drugs and put him in a brace and run tape along his extensor muscles and make him sit in a high-backed ergonomic chair? No, we're gonna yell at him to sit up straight! If he can sit up straight on his own, then we know it's just a sloppy posture problem, and we nag him to change his habits. If we make him sit on a stool in good posture, it's hard work and he can't do it for long, but it's good training. If we put him on a plane for Australia, are we gonna make him sit on a stool? Heck no, we're gonna put him in a nice ergonomic chair! Sitting on a stool in good posture for that long would be agony.

However, if our teenager simply cannot sit up straight on his own are we gonna put him on a stool? No. We're going to give him an ergonomic chair and we're going to investigate why he can't sit himself up straight and we're going to address the problem.

There is a time for the stool, and there's a time for the ergonomic chair.

[KnottedYet]

... continued

Training flats (VFF, Newtons, etc) are the stool, standard modern running shoes are the ergonomic chair.

If you develop bad posture habits, there are modern shoes that will compensate for your bad habits and you can continue running. But bad habits often creep back up on people.

If you can fix your habits voluntarily and monitor yourself, running in training flats is a good way to correct yourself. The training flats won't hide your bad habits from you, you have to face them and deal with them.

Perhaps folks who could have voluntarily corrected themselves were all put into highly structured modern shoes. The shoes hid the problem, but the bad habit got worse and the posture got sloppier. What they needed to do was face the bad habit and fix it. (sit on the stool instead of the ergonomic chair). These are the folks who feel fabulous in training flats (VFF, Newtons, etc.).

But some folks really need the modern shoes. They can't correct themselves, for what ever reason. I wouldn't take their modern shoes away, but I'd work hard to figure out what was going on.

Now, if someone who feels great in training flats puts on a pair of modern shoes, are they being naughty? Heck no! No more than someone who has great posture is naughty for sitting in an ergonomic chair. It's not laziness, either. It's just a tool, not a moral judgement.

[KnottedYet]

Barefoot.

When you are barefoot, there is no-where to hide...

I make my foot posture patients work barefoot... a lot. They start by working on standing barefoot in good posture. When they've mastered that, they work on walking around the house barefoot in good foot posture. When they have that under control, I have them jog through their houses barefoot.

I like barefoot. It is an excellent training tool. What you learn while barefoot will still be used while wearing shoes.

When I was in track we were all encouraged to run barefoot drills on the beach or on grassy fields. I think that's still pretty standard, from what I hear. Barefoot is some good stuff, if you are doing it in good posture.

If running barefoot long distances makes someone happy, I ain't stopping 'em. If they do best in training flats, more power to 'em. If they run joyfully in motion control shoes with custom orthotics, hot doggies for finding the right tool for the job. Just like we tell newbie cyclists to "ride your ride", we also need to "run your run."

If one thing isn't working, try something else. Don't be afraid to experiment, you never know what you'll discover!

[KnottedYet]

Toes and Bunions.

(See, I was segue-ing on topic, more or less. Kind of. Maybe.)

Toes are very cool. They do a lot more than we give them credit for. I like to be able to use my toes, which is why I tend to prefer sandals and Birkenstocks. I also looooove Injinji toe socks. VFF are nifty because they are training flats with separate toesies.

Bunions are also very cool, but not in a nice way. They have usually two causes contributing to them: genetics and cramped toes. I like to put bunion patients who can still achieve corrected positioning of the great toe into things like Chaco Z/2 sandals. If I can get someone like that who is willing to try some VFF, I'll be very excited to see what happens. Toes like to be free! Happy toes can lead to less painful bunions. Bring on the toes!

If you've had a bunionectomy, I would suggest asking your podiatrist before you switch into any training flats. For pin placement and retention, you may need to be running in a motion control or stability shoe.

[twin]

I can wear my Vibrams in my classroom and I also have been going barefoot in my room.

[OakLeaf]

Toes are actually the #1 difference I notice between barefoot and shod. Maybe that's just because I'm so wide in the forefoot. When my pinky toes are inline with the 5th metatarsals, everything feels so much better. I can't even do that in sandals. They all pull in.

[moonfroggy]

T
Bunions are also very cool, but not in a nice way. They have usually two causes contributing to them: genetics and cramped toes. I like to put bunion patients who can still achieve corrected positioning of the great toe into things like Chaco Z/2 sandals. If I can get someone like that who is willing to try some VFF, I'll be very excited to see what happens. Toes like to be free! Happy toes can lead to less painful bunions. Bring on the toes!.

so i have small bunions but i have spent the majority of my life barefoot and have always avoided shoes that cramp my toes at all. would that mean my bunions are pretty much all genetic? they don't bother me at all unless i get shoes that don't give my toes room.

i have wanted to take up running for a long time and am finding this thread to be very interesting. i ran everyplace barefoot as a kid it ever occurred to me i could take up running now and do it barefoot!

[katluvr]

Very interesting stuff....since my massage therapist has pointed out the way I stand. Often w/ more weight on one leg and shifting my hip out to the side. Claims that has some stuff to do w/ my back muscles and some over development on one side versus the other. I always thought I had good posture since I am short, I stand up straight, don't hunch--even sitting at the computer I do that. However now that I am in my mid 40's having lots of lower back pain (noted when walking slow, strolling type walking). I do core work and know my tight hamstrings play a role. But until recently I never thought of myself as not having good posture. Hmmmmmmm, guess I need to really look into this.

As for barefoot. I spend a lot of time in flip flops or other sandal type shoes..including birks, croc's, etc. I don't really walk barefoot much (even in FL) since I have a real aversion to my feet being dirty. (It really grosses me out). I keep thinking about trying running either barefoot or trying the VFF's. Haven't made the leap yet. But after losing 2 toenails to my 1st marathon AND noting my big toe on my other foot is bruised underneath (please let me keep that toenail)...I really need to find something to run in that is not causing damage to my feet/toes. I did note that my feet hurt more after my long runs than my legs. So how does one's feet feel after that distnace? And as your speed increases in VFFs or barefoot...how does your foot strike not increase. Probably a dumb question. I feel that if I run faster, it equals harder and worry more impact on foot strike. I may just be all wrong about it.

K