Why People Quit Wearing Barefoot Shoes

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It's insane that shoes being foot shaped is a new idea

The sensory feel of walking in barefoot shoes is addictive. If i'm waking and I see sand- I have to walk on it just to feel the difference.

I’ve been barefoot shoes and bare foot for nearly 10 years, after a severe mid foot injury, ignore podiatrist’s advice, consultants advice to have surgery for arthritis??!!….I ignored them all now and within a short period of time…low back pain, gone, foot pain , gone….best decision I ever made

I am 69 and switched to barefoot shoes because of knee problems, they solved my knee pain issue since these shoes make me come down on my forefoot instead of my heel, my knee is bent on every step so leg muscles working as shock absorbers relieving impact shock on my knees. Down side, takes 6-12 months to adapt to new method of walking, while hiking on Appalachian Trail the thin soles caused me to feel every rock & root on the trail. I have some zero drop shoes that have a 1 inch sole for next hiking trip that will give a little more cushioning. Checked into history when raised heels were added to shoes, was in 13th century when more people were riding saddled horses for transportation and heels were added to lock the foot into the stirrup, raised heels were made for riding horses, not walking, but since the wealthy were the only ones that could afford saddled horses and raised heels made those people appear taller, raised heels became a status symbol.

I am 3 years into wearing barefoot shoes. I used to roll my ankle about once a year, and I always had arch pain with traditional shoes. Now I don't roll my ankle, and my arch pain is gone. The biggest downside is my feet hurting after long periods of concrete walking. But I will take that trade off for the benefits!

I've become barefoot full-time for the past 36 months. I started working from home during the pandemic and don’t wear shoes in my home. I switched to barefoot shoes when I go outside. I still can't run, but I can walk around 14 miles no problems.

Just wait till people realize the same can apply to beds and the way we sleep. Barefoot shoes helped me transition to firmer beds!

As a 73 year old, I’ve always gone barefoot as much as possible all my life. The only reason for heavy footwear is dangerous terrain. The only injuries I’ve ever had have been in ‘regular’ shoes. I now have a couple of pairs of barefoot style shoes. I really love them and wear them all the time now. Though I still have my regular shoes gathering dust in the closet, I’m well on my way to buying some barefoot style boots for winter wear and I really wish there were more ‘formal looking’ styles for business and celebratory occasions. Though frankly, at my age if anyone comments on my informal sports wear, I just play the silver card and claim I need them for my health…or just stare ‘em down.

As a nurse walking on a hard floor for 12 hours, I focused on comfort and cushion. Now I want to focus on making sure I keep/get my feet strong and functional. But no way I'm wearing minimalist shoes on a hard floor for 12 hours. BUT... I'm thinking approach it like working out, where I schedule periods of the week where I just wear those type of shoes and allow my feet and legs to adjust.

I had leg issues until I started wearing barefoot shoes. Now my legs and feet are stronger. I don't understand why everyone doesn't wear zero drop shoes. It's like weightlifting at the gym, except the hardest part (getting youreself there) is already done.

I spend nearly all my time in barefoot shoes but I just don’t enjoy running in them. Instead, I prioritize a wide toe box with a “minimal” drop and “minimal” cushioning.

one of the drawbacks that i've heard from people is that they are more expensive, but I tell them they tend to last longer but they don't want to hear it.

7 months for me since I started. Wanted to just say this channel helped me a lot. Still haven’t tried a long run in them but can finally walk on concrete for 10km+ walks with no foot pain. The strength gains are brilliant!

Shoes are not a religion, they're a tool.™ Choose the correct tool for the job. At age 48, I started wearing Vibram FiveFingers in July 2012, and the Bikila model was my first pair. I hadn't run in 15yrs due to injuring my left knee badly, training for a race, wearing traditional, high-heel, running shoes in 1997. I'd tried to start running again several times during that 15yr lapse, but couldn't get further than about a half mile before the pain in that knee was searing. The first day in the FF's, I ran 7-1/2mi on the trails of our local 1,200'/366m peak, and that included a mile on pavement, to and from the trailhead. I ran 27mi that week, on a mixture of all pavement, and more trails. I was so sore I could barely walk, but my knee(s) both felt great. Of course this was not the correct way to transition, but I was so excited to be a runner again, that I just wanted to be out there. As you say, the experience of "feeling" the terrain was amazing, and also, the instant change to running and walking, both in form, and posture, was amazing. One of the fantastic things about FF, verses putting on a minimalist shoe, is that the FF's trigger the brain to immediate put the body into; "I'm doing this in bare feet" mode. So immediately, both running and walking, are done in correct human form. Many times people will buy a pair of minimalist shoes because they don't want to look stupid in a pair of FF's, and then they are miserable, or injured, because their brain is still in "I'm in a shoe" mode. So the person is still heel striking, but now they're in something with no protection for that level of impact. Of course the shoe gets blamed for the injury. I commonly hear, "Oh I tried those stupid shoes once. I got injured in them, and so did my buddies. They're a fad. You know that company got sued, right?" I'm almost 61, and still in the FF's, running year round. My knees will never be great, but I can get out on the trails and run 3 to 3-1/2hr training runs with a ton of vert, and I run Rim2Rim at the Grand Canyon twice a year as an XC run (no poles, no walking), and as a marathon distance. I also run Rim2River (aka: the cowboy loop) at the end of May each year, and will be there again in a week. When the trails become to packed with exposed stone, I run in a minimalist shoe with a little more protection. A couple favorites are the old New Balance Minimus 10V1 and 10V2, and their MT1010, which are easily found on mercari/poshmark/ebay. I'm also a huge fan of Merrell Trail Gloves, and Vapor Gloves. When I race a trail Half, I wear one of these, because the FF's are not a fast shoe, and they are not for real racing, and putting down real power and speed... hence my initial comment: Shoes are not a religion, they're a tool™. About 5yrs ago I started wearing Vivo BareFoot Primus Trail FG's at work, as a mechanic, 9hrs a day, on a concrete floor, covered in oily grit. My normal "oxford type mechanic shoes" were causing a ton of knee pain. As soon as I switched to the Vivo's, my knee pain went away. I wear them as my daily shoes as well. I have vids on the channel of my daughter and I running in the Grand Canyon and other places, in our FF's. She joined me in them at age 12, trained in them and even raced in them for a while in HS XC and Track, and was the only team member on any of the running teams, who remained uninjured. All the while, her coaches were preaching to the kids that if they didn't run in thick soled, raised heel, motion controlling, shoes, they'd be injured. Guess who had 100% of the injuries. Thanks for continuing to put the message out!!

I've started running in barefoot shoes and it's like recovering from an injury. I'm 51 this year and also started working on pistol squats to engage more of the stabilizer muscles around my ankles. It really is like starting from scratch but I feel like I'm standing and moving differently, better.

Been in barefoot shoes for a while. Started with Vibrams and it instantly tells you that there is more reactive feedback from the ground. Injuries are pretty much people being aggressive on the transition period. I got a pair for my brother who's used those bulky soled shoes and told him "walk in these untill your feet and calves feel comfortable, then up the pace and use" so far hes had a good transition.

I got myself a pair of Altra Escalantes and can never return to wearing normal shoes as I no longer have running injuries. I am barefoot at home all the time and now only wear vivos/xero shoes. It is a slow process and when I run in vivos my calves are on fire afterwards, showing muscle imbalances. I’ll also go out for runs barefoot in the grass, it greatly improves my running technique. Wearing barefoot shoes is a free workout for your feet, with all the added health benefits!

I am 64 I go actually barefooted most of the time. No back problems, no foot problems. Love it.

Im mostly barefoot at home. I have barefoot shoes but dont wear them every day. I tried going for walks with them. It hurts too much the next day. Its a slow process for me