Why modern shoes are dangerous?

Everyone hesitates about butt and biceps, everyone is eager to do the splits, everyone does countless exercises for the abs and just some people exercise their feet. After all, what’s the use of these exercises if photo of the foot will not be posted on Instagram. We are ready to buy smaller size shoes because of their beauty, sneakers with a large layer of sole and cushioning because of fashion, narrow shoes because of advertisement and just some of us buy shoes thoughtfully. Later, everyone is surprised when the Hallux valgus, spurs, hammertoe and calluses appeared, when foot is flattening, and in general it became uncomfortable and painful to walk for a long time. And many of the feet diseases can be prevented, as well as surgical intervention can be avoided 

Foot has unique structure. It is formed with solid material that can not be reconstructed by any implant. There are 19 muscles in the foot and lower leg. Weak or strained muscles disrupt the biomechanics of the foot. This can change the position of bones and condition of the foot joints, which affects the entire body structure. One of the foot functions is to adapt to the surface, absorbing the load. A healthy foot is capable of doing this better than super shock-absorbing shoes. As well as orthopedic footwear is designed for certain categories of patients, not for everyone. Laziness and lack of knowledge about feet exercises should not be justified using insoles and insteps.

After Christopher McDougall’s book “Born to Run” was publicated in 2009, running barefoot gained popularity rapidly. Barefoot shoes – oxymoron, which is used for minimal shoes. These shoes are usually wide in the toe area and have small layer of sole, always without insteps and high heels. More and more scientific studies prove that such shoes maintain the functionality of the foot. Popular footwear manufacturers began to use the notion of barefoot shoes in their advertising campaigns. So be careful when choosing. The largest and most popular manufacturer of barefoot is Vibram. I use Vibram Fivefingers in studio and when walking on nature, Nike Ninja Shoes or Nike Tabi Shoes when walking in city. During winter UGG shoes or winter collection Vibram furoshiki can be used. The belief that shoes without special cushioning devices leads to a flattening of the foot is rather erroneous. Tight shoes, high-heels, shoes with a very thick sole and shoes with unstable heelback lead to the problems more often. I agree that barefoot shoes are not always beautiful, do not always match your look and almost never from Louis Vuitton, Prada or Salvatore Ferragamo.

In any case, each of us can prevent foot ailments as follows:

1. Do Pilates. The feet are naturally connected with our body. The body compensates any problem of the foot, as well as the foot compensates for any problem in the body. Taking Pilates class, you can build a body structure, activate all the chains of deep musculature, adjust the proprioception, learn how to properly distribute the load in the body and how to contact the surface.
2. Do 5-10 exercises for feet every day. This should be your homework from the trainer, who will teach you how to do them and give a list of exercises.
3. Walk barefoot on the grass, sand, stones from time to time. At home, you can use balls from different materials and different sizes. Or organize yourself a site like this in Japan.