Has anyone tried the minimalist shoes?

[diggitydot]

I picked up a pair of New Balance Minimus and am pleasantly surprised how comfortable they are for my weird feet. I never thought I'd ever use minimalist shoes, but they're more comfortable than my overly cushy ones. I'll give them a good work out tomorrow, but so far I notice that I pronate FAR less and still have decent support for my crazy high arches.

[scrub-jay]

I LOVE mine. My mom got me hooked, she has several color variations and my 2.5 yr old now has a aqua blue toddler pair. We might be addicts. I thought I'd hate them bc of my high arches more, but I now I wish I could wear them at work.

[diggitydot]

I have crazy high arches, weak ankles, and Morton's neromae in both feet so I always thought I'd have to be in overly cushy clodhoppers. Tomorrow will be the real test, but I might just be a convert. I tried a few squats tonight and they were SO much easier in these shoes.

[houseelf]

I do not use these. I researched the crap out of them and did learn that you absolutely must start out slowly and build distance slowly. On the Runnersworld forums, one poster compared running in a minimalist shoe to a construction worker who needs to build up their callouses and strength. There are a TON of people who have gone out and gone too far too fast and done serious damage. (Orthopod spouses....pipe up here). People either love them or hate them. All agree to build mileage very slowly because you are stressing different parts of the foot and legs. In a parallel consideration, I have dabbled in Chi running form and I like it but this also takes time to build up this new form. Almost everyone overdoes it.

Seriously, go to RW forums and check it out. They might just be a more obsessive group than us.

[diggitydot]

I'm not a runner, I'm just using them for CrossFit. I would love to eventually be able to run, but that would require significant weight loss to protect my joints.

[GreyhoundsRUs]

I'm not a runner, I'm just using them for CrossFit. I would love to eventually be able to run, but that would require significant weight loss to protect my joints.

A friend who is a personal trainer LOVES these for her workouts I wear my New Balance with orthotic inserts for 75% of my day (I even have a "house" pair that doesn't go outside). Being barefoot gives me sciatic pain like none other.

As an orthopod spouse, all I can say is that it's been 2.5 years since DH has done his sports med rotation (where I think related injuries would show up), and that was before the huge jump in popularity. I got nothing

[GreyhoundsRUs]

If I remember correctly, BonBon and PrincessFiona are minimalists?? Right??

[TulipsAndSunscreen]

Dh has them. Read Born To Run and *had to have some*. I'd really like to know how reading about barefoot running means $80 shoes but I digress. He definitely went too far, too fast and sprained his foot. Was out of running for weeks. Also, he's not built for minimis running, he's too big and muscular in his upper body so that's something to consider too, this is all inspired by a short, compact tribe in Mexico. They have specific genetics.

I want some but I do the majority of my running on pavement pushing a stroller. They're a good concept but when I was doing my leg PT postpartum, my PT told me the foot sprain is very very common. Plus, we run longer distances than are recommended for those shoes.

[Auspicious]

S#*+ Barefoot Runners Say:

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?v=NPdb7...%3DNPdb7ZDJKS4

At the end of fellowship my husband wasn't running at all so he switched to Vibram five fingers and started back up, basically at the recommendation of his brother, who loved them. BIL warned him strongly to start out slow. Husband says this fixed his plantar fasciitis. (Just like the guy in the video!) He now has some Nike Free Run 3s that he says are just as good but different than the Vibrams. He is not logging major mileage, though--he does a five mile route kind of as he has the time.

[diggitydot]

Dh has them. Read Born To Run and *had to have some*. I'd really like to know how reading about barefoot running means $80 shoes but I digress. He definitely went too far, too fast and sprained his foot. Was out of running for weeks. Also, he's not built for minimis running, he's too big and muscular in his upper body so that's something to consider too, this is all inspired by a short, compact tribe in Mexico. They have specific genetics.

I want some but I do the majority of my running on pavement pushing a stroller. They're a good concept but when I was doing my leg PT postpartum, my PT told me the foot sprain is very very common. Plus, we run longer distances than are recommended for those shoes.

I really hadn't considered buying a truly minimal shoe because I just assumed they'd be really uncomfortable and there's no way I'm paying ~$100 to torture myself.

For whatever reason, I always forget that we have a Big 5 in town. I initially went in there just to buy a couple of ankle braces and remembered that they had a small shoe selection. Figured I'd check out what they had in stock before driving to the next nearest town (2 hours away) for shoes. I was blown away that they had a TON of CrossFit shoes and they were ALL on sale. Apparently, no one here does CF.

I picked up the New Balance Minimus for $50.

I'm definitely taking things slowly. I'm pretty injury-prone, so DH and I are careful to work on form first.

[BonBon]

I've got 3 pairs of VFFs and a pair of Merrell Barefoot Pace. You do have to start slowly. I came on these by accident several years ago after trying every conventional treatment for plantar fasciitis short of surgery and none of them worked. I had read an article by some sports med doc about foot anatomy and how we're not meant to wear these supportive cushion-y shoes and that it's the CAUSE of the majority of our foot problems. This rang true for me as I daily wore $100 plush running shoes for my over-pronating feet (and birkenstocks) and yet had horrid feet problems. For months I went barefoot around the house and did foot exercises (ie standing on softballs) to strengthen my feet. I've been wearing the minimalist shoes daily for nearly a year, and do EVERYTHING in them. My feet have made remarkable changes since I started the VFFs: my plantar fasciitis is long gone, the bunion in my right foot has nearly corrected itself, and my second and third toes on each foot have both straightened out. I haven't seen much difference in the fourth and fifth toes, nor my bunion on my left foot. :/

My orthopedic surgeon is behind me 100% and went so far as to tell me to wear only my VFFs for my ACL repair recovery.

[houseelf]

That's awesome, Bon Bon. You support my belief that people either love them or hate them. Towards the end of my last cycle of training, I got the first blush of Plantar Fascitis. Hell, everything on my body was threatening to blow at that mileage.

With this being said, I have gone the other way. I wear Nike Motos with orthopaedic inserts. I find that I need more cushion and support. Form has become critical. I just can't get away with sloppy anymore.

By the way, the Too-Fast-Too-Quick is what most people say causes their injuries across the board, minimalist running or not. Steady as she goes...

[JDAZ11]

DD - are you still wearing the minimalist shoes? How are your neuromas doing in them? Were the neuromas bothering you when you started wearing the shoes?

I had neuromas in both of my feet about 6 years ago, and (lucky me) it's back in one foot. I've done PT and had injections (yep, I know I probably shouldn't have, but I just wanted it to go away). Anyway - it's still bothering me after about 4 months. I went to the running store over the weekend and the guy told me I shouldn't try minimalist shoes until I am injury free. I'm kind of annoyed, and so sick of having foot pain. Anyway, was just wondering if you - or anyone else - started wearing the minimalist shoes while dealing with an injury. (I was just planning to wear them around the house, maybe grocery store etc - not run in them).

[BonBon]

I didn't have neuromas, but plantar fasciitis. Rather than wearing the shoes, I just went barefoot as much as possible, stood on softballs and voila...healed feet. (after trying orthotics, sleeping with these weird boots, etc...)

[JDAZ11]

I didn't have neuromas, but plantar fasciitis. Rather than wearing the shoes, I just went barefoot as much as possible, stood on softballs and voila...healed feet. (after trying orthotics, sleeping with these weird boots, etc...)

Ugh, the weird sleep boots! (i have had PF a few times). I can definitely tell that my arches are lower and not very strong at the moment- I assume from wearing orthotics for so long to avoid issues with PF. I think the weak arch is what is causing the neuroma pain (I guess that and tight calves, which I just can't get rid of! Apparently the tight calves pull my foot out of alignment?).

Our rental has these horrible tile floors everywhere, so I'm not sure I can just go barefoot in the house (it makes my knees and lower back hurt in addition to the electric shocks from the neuroma... So fun!). But i guess I will try to step up my footwork exercises (and maybe buy a softball, I was standing on a lacrosse ball, but maybe a softball will work better).

Thanks for the advice! How's the knee rehab coming along?