Running without shoes or with minimalist footwear has become increasingly fashionable among people who practice running. In fact, it has its own label: "barefoot running ." But is it really beneficial or harmful to our body?
Several studies carried out by the biologist Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University (USA) and collected by the journal Nature , show that barefoot runners avoid stepping with the heel, settling in each stride in the front or midfoot, which reduces the impact against the ground and makes the cushioning present in the heels of the sports shoes that are most used today unnecessary. These results are comparable even on the hardest surfaces.
Is it better to run barefoot? Researchers agree that more studies are still needed to prove whether running this way causes fewer injuries than running in footwear.
Convinced that our anatomy is prepared for it, what the experts do recommend is not to change from one system to another in a radical way because, not being used to it, we would overload the muscles and tendons , which could lead to injury. To begin with, running barefoot on the beach one day a month may be the best way to start and gradually increase “barefoot running” to our exercise routine.
