Benefits of Barefoot Shoes

When wearing a zero drop shoe, the ankle can sit in it's correct anatomical position. Your Achilles tendon and calf muscles are able to utilize their full range of motion, granting you greater power while removing tension from your ankle, knees, hips and back.

When no arch support is present, then the tissues of your feet like the plantar fascia are able to lengthen and shorten back and forth in during pronation and supination. This back and forth motion is critical for shock absorption, power generation and dynamic stability with every step we take.

If the toes are allowed to rest properly on the floor, then they can properly stretch and contract every moment we are on our feet. This allows them to increase our base of support and stretch our plantar fascia while walking, granting us useful elastic energy.

When the sole of a shoe is thin, ideally less than 7mm, we are able to receive proprioceptive feedback. This leads to an increase in balance over conventional footwear [5]. It also means our body can sense how firm the ground is, what angles we are contacting and if any small objects are underfoot. This allows the stabilizing muscles within and around our foot to synchronize quickly and effectively. When the muscles of the foot are functioning properly, then the ankle, knee, hip and are relieved from having deal with the ground reaction forces that the fine motor control that the foot was meant to deal with.

The widest part of the human foot anatomically is meant to be from the hallux (big toe) to the 5th phalanx (pinkie toe). If you've ever witness a new-born baby's toes, this feature is immediately apparent. It is easy to observe natural toe spread when visiting places around the world that are not accustom to wearing conventional western shoes or flip flops. From the youngest to the oldest, everyone's feet in these population will be widest between their toes.

When a shoe allows for proper toe spread, the arches of the foot gain increase leverage through the toes. A very clear example of this is the abductor hallucis that begins in the calcaneus (heel bone) and ends on the inner side of the big toe. When this muscle is able to properly flex and stretch, it can keep the big toe properly aligned with the metatarsal below it. When paired with the proper firing of the flexor hallucis longus, the big toe can push down into the ground with exceptional force, which helps raise the medial arch off of the floor.

A wide toe spread also allows us to better counteract lateral forces trying to knock us off balance. When the toes are allowed to spread out sideways, the small muscles between the toes are able to gain leverage and prevent these sideways forces from traveling up the leg.

When our footwear is properly attached to our feet, the muscles of our feet and ankles do not need to work overtime to keep the footwear attached. Paired together with adequate flexibility, properly secured footwear ensures that out feet and ankles are not limited or overworked while walking or running.