WHAT ARE BAREFOOT SHOES?

Flexible sole: Unlike conventional shoes, the soles are very flexible, allowing them to be twisted and bent in any direction. This barely affects the foot's natural rolling motion.

Barefoot shoes have a wider forefoot than traditional shoes. This allows plenty of room for the toes. Each individual toe can respond to signals from ground contact, for example, with grasping movements. This constantly engages the foot and leg muscles, strengthening them and stabilizing the overall running movement.

Unlike traditional shoes, barefoot shoes don't have a raised heel or cushioning. There's no difference in height between the heel and forefoot (the so-called drop). This allows the wearer to place their midfoot or forefoot on the ground. This, in turn, is much more in line with a natural running technique.

Barefoot shoes are very lightweight. The advantage of lightweight shoes is that they don't influence leg movements like additional weights. The heavier the shoes, the more the leverage changes when running. With heavy shoes, the legs swing much further forward than is the case with a natural running style.

Walking and running in barefoot shoes has many health benefits over traditional shoes. Some of the advantages include:

• Supports natural running motion: Barefoot shoes promote natural running motion. The foot strikes less on the heel and more on the midfoot and forefoot, as occurs with natural walking. This protects joints and bones and has a positive effect on posture.

• Strengthening of the foot and leg muscles: Muscles and ligaments in the foot and lower leg area are challenged more, thus becoming stronger. The body's natural ability to cushion the running motion improves.

• Improved blood circulation: Blood circulation in the feet and legs is stimulated.

• Promotes sensorimotor skills: Improved ground contact promotes sensorimotor skills, the interaction between muscles and the nervous system. The sense of balance is also addressed and trained.

Wearing barefoot shoes requires a certain amount of adjustment. The body needs time to adjust to the new freedom for the feet. The adjustment period varies from person to person. Keep in mind that most people are no longer used to running barefoot. Over the course of a lifetime, muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons have adapted to running, jogging, or hiking in traditional shoes that supposedly relieve pressure on the feet and legs.

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