10 Benefits of Barefoot Exercise

• April 19, 2024

Scientists from the universities of Virginia and Colorado, in the United States, together with experts from the company JKM Technologies, have demonstrated what to do exercise Barefoot is extremely healthy.

The study, recently published in the magazine of the American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, mentions the following benefits:

1. Help strengthen the muscles of the foot and the ankle, allowing the body to make a greater integration and correct the imbalance in the movements.

2. According to experts, walking or running without shoes develops more strength in muscles of the feet, legs and hips. This means an improvement in the way of walking, with more agility and balance. For something the athletes finish their routineexercise barefoot on the grass.

3. Joint torsional forces are lower when running without shoes.

4. The forces of rotation in the three joints studied were significantly greater when the shoes were worn, than when they were running only with socks. In their study, the researchers observed that while wearing shoes there was a 36% increase in the rotational force in flexion of the knee , and that possibly elevates the tension on the tendon of the patella.

5. This detail, together with the 38% increase in the internal rotation force of the knee, implies greater compression in the tibio-femoral compartment.

6. Experts point out that it would be reasonable to rethink the design of some sports shoes, taking into account these variables in the same way that has been done with the cushioning of the tread (as is the case of shoes designed from the way the Masai tribe walks in Africa, or the Tarahumara in the mountains of Chihuahua).

7. Specialists in human evolutionary biology at Harvard University (United States) found that those who run without shoes, fall on the front of the sole of the foot, which generates a minor impact on the entire body and reduces injuries. In contrast, when running with shoes, usually, the foot falls on the heel, which generates a strong impact that is equivalent to two or three times the weight of the body and predisposes to suffer injuries caused by the impact.

8. Being barefoot increases the awareness of the body at the level of integration, by allowing it to work the subtleties of balance.

9. Perform barefoot exercise has become a new trend in the world of fitness, although in fact we have been doing for thousands of years.

10. The forces of rotation that are generated on the knees and hips when running on a treadmill with the typical sneakers are different, and especially greater than those that are created by doing barefoot, or only with socks. The increase of these forces of rotation in the joints can contribute to osteo-articular injuries that often cause painful symptoms in the usual runners.

If you plan to do exercise without shoes, take into account that you must start little by little: first walk barefoot in your house several minutes a day to strengthen the muscles in the feet and ankles. You will notice that the skin of the sole of the foot will become harder, thicker and more resistant, and that way it will be ready to exercise barefoot for longer and without it hurting so much. Ahead!
 

Video Medicine: Benefits of Barefoot Training (April 2024).