I’ve had people tell me that going barefoot is actually a lot better for a person, because the body learns to naturally balance itself out to the person’s need and align things somehow. There was one shoe store, for example, that had a story about how people in Africa rarely have back, legs, or arthritis pain because a lot of them go barefoot(Of course, the store carried the shoes that were specially designed to give one all the benefits of going barefoot) . My homeroom teacher who runs a couple miles each morning(without shoes) claims to not have any of these problems either and it made him more aware of his surroundings as well as how his body functions.
However, today in class I had a classmate of mine(Now he is a very educated guy not someone who pretends or thinks he knows everything) told me that going barefoot can lead one to developing flat feet because the foot has no support. I did not press him further because I had to leave, but became curious. Is this true?
I know that one has to be careful because foot injury is possible. I know that there will be pain the fist couple weeks perhaps as the foot get used to this, but I’m looking more for medical evidence of people developing flat feet due to not wearing shoes.
P.S and I am referring to mostly outdoor walking
Feet do not need support, even on hard surfaces! From ‘Survey in China and India of Feet That Have Never Worn Shoes’:
One hundred and eighteen of those interviewed were rickshaw coolies. Because these men spend very long hours each day on cobblestone or other hard roads pulling their passengers at a run it was of particular interest to survey them. If anything, their feet were more perfect than the others. All of them, however, gave a history of much pain and swelling of the foot and ankle during the first few days of work as a rickshaw puller. But after either a rest of two days or a week’s more work on their feet, the pain and swelling passed away and never returned again. There is no occupation more strenuous for the feet than trotting a rickshaw on hard pavement for many hours each day yet these men do it without pain or pathology.
Also, from "The Influence of Footwear on the Prevalence of Flat Foot," The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 74B(4), 1992, pp. 525-527:
In Europe and America flat foot is a common reason for attendance at a children’s orthopaedic clinic, but in India children are seldom brought for treatment for flat foot. The few children who do attend with this complaint are from affluent urban families and they all wear shoes. In our clinic we have never seen a child from the farming community or from the family of a manual labourer who complained of flat foot.
i go bare footed all the time when possible.
i have sever pronatation (flat footed) when I stand up, but I think thats how my feet are whether I wear shoes or not. I think it has to do with how your feet were designed, not by whether or not you wear shoes.
I def. think you have better balance without shoes though b/c you can actually feel the ground.
I was recommended by doctors to walk barefoot as much as possible when I was little because they saw signs that I might end up flat footed. The tendency is usually hereditary. I followed recommendation. I think it didn’t do any damage, because my feet look exactly like my mom’s, not any flatter. However, due to exercise that I got from barefoot walking and of course from dancing, my feet are much stronger, I can wear high heels all day if I want to, while she can’t wear them at all. I never experience the foot aches that she had when she was my age and younger.
Being a dancer and having this problem, I have done some research on this. It seems like there is no complete agreement on this issue. But here is the deal: your arch is formed by bones and supported by muscles and ligaments. Strong muscles = good. Both muscles and ligaments have an ability to stretch. Stretching the muscles is good (think all the freedom of walking barefoot!). Stretching the ligaments is bad. Stretched (for whatever reason) ligament means less support to the bones = bad. When they refer to proper support, they are worried about stretching that ligament. When they say walk barefoot they imply strengthen your muscles. My solution: walk barefoot in nature as much as possible, wear meticulously fitted shoes at all other times.
Hope it helps.
It is a lot better for you to go barefoot
Walking barefoot is only beneficial when done on uneven surfaces, such as grass or sand. This is so because it stimulates the foot muscles. I have a friend who had very low arches and, as a result of walking on sand often, developed a normal height arch! You should limit how much you walk barefoot on even surfaces, such as concrete or tile floors, as the constant pounding of your foot on said surfaces has the adverse effect; will make your arches drop eventually.