Minimal Footwear for Walking —
Putting Your Best Foot Forward

By Ray McClanahan

For walkers, the best foot to put forward is a bare foot. While this is both comfortable and healthful around our homes, it is impractical for most of us to take our walks barefoot. There is the constant danger of stepping on a sharp object, and for many of us walking outdoors barefoot frankly doesn’t feel very good.

We have spent our entire outdoor existence insulated and supported by our footwear, and consequently our foot muscles lack strength and our foot skin lacks the tough callusing seen in feet that are habitually unshod.

The good news for walkers is that you do not have to actually be barefoot during walking activity to achieve the health benefits seen in barefoot cultures.

You can begin a program of minimal footwear for walking, and achieve better foot strength, better balance, and less injury.
 
What is minimal footwear and how can it help your walking?

The Vibram 5 Fingers

The Vivo Barefoot

Minimal footwear is any footwear that allows your feet to function as nature intended them to. As close to barefoot as possible. This generally means a lower heel, a wider toebox, and a more flexible sole construction. This type of footwear encourages the toes to spread and come in close contact with the ground surface.

This type of footwear has a thinner sole, allowing the walker to feel the ground under her feet. Examples of this type of footwear are racing flats, flip flops, Crocs, moccasins, etc. Any footwear that is flat, wide at the ends of the toes, and flexible. Perhaps the two most popular current examples of minimal footwear are the Vibram 5 Fingers, and the Vivo Barefoot. 
 
The Vibram 5 Fingers product is essentially a rubber covering to protect the soles of your feet and not much else. Your toes are each encased in their own cavity. Originally designed as water shoes, the company is coming out with a running version this year, which may also be good for walking. By engaging your sense of proprioception, your gait is involuntarily altered to reflect what your feet are sensing from the ground. This has not been happening in most walking shoes for three decades, as there has been too much cushioning added and too many motion controlling features.
 
The Vivo Barefoot also gets you close to the ground with very little extraneous cushioning added. The shoe is very flexible throughout, and allows the walker to spread his/her toes.
 
Many of the walkers that we serve at Northwest Foot and Ankle are able to achieve their minimal footwear goals with racing flats. We generally remove the insole/sock liner permanently, place a metatarsal pad into the shoes, and start the lacing a few eyelets back. All of these strategies allow us to place Correct Toes, silicone toe spreading devices, on the walker’s toes, enhancing natural foot function.
 
Relying on your natural inborn senses to guide your body is the only path to walking without injury. This is prevention at its best. That is what minimal footwear for walking is all about. 
 
Transitioning to minimal footwear should be approached very cautiously and with great patience. Since most of us have not walked in minimal footwear since we were kids, and we should allow our bodies an appropriate amount of time to adjust, which may be years for some walkers. Healthy walking!
 
Ray McClanahan, DPM, is a podiatrist and owner of Northwest Foot and Ankle Clinic. McClanahan is passionate about preventive foot care for walkers, hikers, and runners. McClanahan can be reached at 503-243-2699 or visit www.nwfootankle.com.