Barefoot running: researchers look into going shoeless

Barefoot runners of the past may have ran more effectively than the modern runner. In fact, Harvard scientists believe that barefoot runners, who land on the front of their feet, as opposed to "heel strikers", are less prone to injury.

It has been said that the 70's was a revolutionary time. It may have been, with the invention of the modern running shoe, because its widespread popularity and design have modified the way humans run. But perhaps not for the better. From a performance standpoint, Harvard University has reportedly researched the advantages of barefoot running and have found that "people who don't wear shoes have an astonishingly different strike". Barefoot runners place the impact on the front ball or middle of the foot. Consequently, it was observed that almost no "impact collision" was present. Humans cleverly used their bodies by applying the correct physics to disperse and absorb forces that are 2-3 times bodyweight and avoid pain and injury. In contrast, the great majority of shoe runners, are heel strikers and naturally experience a "very large collision force". Impacts are observed to be hard hitting, which can be physically punishing to joints, tendons and muscles. For this reason, our early ancestors that participated in endurance running would not heel strike for fear of debilitating injury. Evolutionary history points out that that feet architecture was designed, in part, for running, and investigations may look into "unlearning" some techniques for more bio-mechanically efficient methods. The goal is to "prevent repetitive stress injuries that afflict a high percentage of runners today", says a researcher.