Minimalist Shoes ≠ Barefoot Running
There has been a lot of hype about barefoot running and how shoes change the body’s natural mechanics.
Much of this makes sense, but the jury is out as to the significance of these mechanical changes with regard to performance and injury.
If running barefoot is a bit much for you, perhaps a “minimalist shoe” might help you achieve the mechanical benefits with fewer of the risks. Perhaps.
Then again, perhaps not.
A study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine investigated this question, comparing the mechanics of highly trained runners in minimalist shoes, barefoot, and traditional shoes. The findings are a bit surprising.
The basic pattern is that the minimalist shoe looks a lot more like the other shoes than like barefoot.
Alex Hutchinson writes about it in Sweat Science, and includes an important philosophical discussion about what exactly is a minimalist shoe, anyway?