What happened to barefoot, minimalist, Vibram as the cure for everything that ails the runner?

I was also a pre-Born to run minimalist, it is the only way I was able to stop all of the stress fractures I had. The Mizuno Wave Universe was a great shoes but the shoes I miss the most are the Adizero PR's. They were perfect! I still have some Wave Ekidens left but even the arch support in those tend to bother my feet if I wear them too much. Now I have to try to make the Altra Vanish-R's work but they are so dang soft that they feel slow and wear out quickly. But they are all we have to choose from these days.

Interesting thing about that graph. slice it in half horizontally, and look at the top half and bottom half. What do you know, there appears to be a positive relationship between distance a country is from the equator and fractures. Not surprising since the people in those countries have less opportunity to get vitamin D from the sun. The countries further from the equator also tend to have cultures that historically emphasize animal protein in the diet. I am far from convinced of a casual relationship between eating animal protein and developing fractures.

Some runners switched to minimalist shoes and found some relief from chronic injury, but then new injuries emerged. So everyone went back to doing what they did before. And a few odd balls who always ran barefoot, are still running a barefoot.

Didn't Vibram have to pay some damages to people dumb enough to listen to them?

There were so many injuries. I read once that they were a podiatrist's dream.

celery wrote:

Some runners switched to minimalist shoes and found some relief from chronic injury, but then new injuries emerged. So everyone went back to doing what they did before. And a few odd balls who always ran barefoot, are still running a barefoot.

Very poor attempt at a post

I've never quite forgiven adidas for getting rid of the Adizero PR. Then New Balance had the Minimus line on the market for a few hours, or so it seemed. I haven't gotten to Altra at all. I've got a pretty good stash to work through yet and I'm old. It could outlast me. I can't decide whether I'm happy or distressed by that thought. But if I do it's looking like cross country flats are my future.

lookatthegraph wrote:

Interesting thing about that graph. slice it in half horizontally, and look at the top half and bottom half. What do you know, there appears to be a positive relationship between distance a country is from the equator and fractures. Not surprising since the people in those countries have less opportunity to get vitamin D from the sun. The countries further from the equator also tend to have cultures that historically emphasize animal protein in the diet. I am far from convinced of a casual relationship between eating animal protein and developing fractures.

Eating meat HELPS PREVENT fractures:

Bone is made out of a collagen matrix, for which the best source is meat and gristle. Paleontologists can detect when a culture turned from hunting to agriculture by the decline in bone size and quality, and the rise in dental abnormalities.

John Utah wrote:

JoeRoganSuperFan wrote:

TOO MUCH SOY MILK DESTROYED OUR BONES

MUSAGA

https://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2007nl/mar/fracturesopti.jpg

facts say the opposite

I love it when people start talking about "facts", and then don't understand the difference between correlation and causation...

Oops..

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PiratesVsTemp(en).svg

They all gave up running after getting injured. I am not kidding. Those beginners who got caught up this nonsense are done running.

It surely worked for me.

It was just a big fad that came and went. I didn't see any top runners switch and go barefoot or minimalist. Our ancestors didn't have to deal with pavement and concrete so it was much better for them. I see too many foot and lower leg problems associated with running barefoot or minimalist shoes.

Another reason is this. I would never run barefoot or in minimalist shoes on grass in parks or anywhere else. Too many drug addicts leaving their needles behind which I don't need sticking or poking me.

Came back for a BAD Achilles injury, it had plagued me for several years. Took 3 months, no running. First month running again, barefoot running on grass. No problems!

After, I've run in Brooks PureFlow series. Psuedo barefoot shoe. Again, no more Achilles problems. Happy with the PureFlow.

I don't really buy the whole "you need a lot of cushion for pavement" thing. Your footstrike adapts to whatever surface you run on, and honestly you'll have more problems running minimalist on rocky trails or gravel (stone bruises etc.) than concrete.

I like low drop, light, no frills racing flats with just a bit of cushion -- the Nike Streak LT is the only one left that I'm aware of, unfortunately. I've run 30+ miles on the road and plenty of marathons in them with no issue. Not sure if minimalists would consider these worthy, but they're at least minimal-ish.

As far as injuries go, low stack shoes have helped me stop spraining ankles and gotten rid of recurring ITBS. I still get runner's knee occasionally, and had a bad hamstring strain at one point (which resolved itself slowly -- not sure the shoes did anything one way or the other).

I agree on the Merrell's. On my regularly cushioned shoes I would end up having ITBS on both knees. So I read a lot about barefoot running and minimalist/barefoot shoes. I slowly incorperated barefoot sessions into my training regime and haven't been injured since.

I run (due to the issue of blood blisters on my toes) one session of 10k bareboot on the beach per week. The other 100k I run per week I use Merell Vapour Gloves 3 or Merrell Trail Gloves (depending on the surface).

If running injuries are an issue I highly recommend exploring minimalist or barefoot running. However, give your body time to get used to it.

Cheers

HRE wrote:

Then New Balance had the Minimus line on the market for a few hours, or so it seemed.

No, it's still around. It even looks the same as the original version (trail):

Grey_with_Yellow

The minimalist stuff did actually drive a change in the industry. Folks who are talking about the change in the drop of shoes and decrease in weight are right on. A lot of the pure minimalist stuff is gone, but we’re left with solid stalwarts like the Saucony Kinvara and Brooks Launch, where the trend prior was to have probation control and bulky cushioning built into everything. Light shoes, no stability features, lower drop and stack height. That was surprisingly tough to find in anything but a raving flat pre-2008. It even drove Hoka - they have a ton of cushion, sure, but they are very much driven by some of the “natural running” principals of the period (wider forefoot, low drop). The fad is over, but we’re left with some very real and positive aftereffects.

I whole heartedly support your recommendation of minimalist running and the patience that it requires to switch over. (Especially if one's mileage is over 45/week)

However, I would argue that running on asphalt or concrete isn't hazardous unless done too quickly, just like ones initial transition to minimalist footwear. (See Wolff's Law) As long as the load on bones is incremental the body will adapt regardless of the surface.

I tried minimalist shoes 8 years ago, and got injured like the masses due to the increased load. Realized the error of my ways and made incremental changes as one should. Nothing fancy and the buildup wasn't that long.

I've been running in "minimalist" footwear ever since. Vivobarefoot has been my brand of choice for the last 5-6 years.

Ho Hum wrote:

I don't really buy the whole "you need a lot of cushion for pavement" thing. Your footstrike adapts to whatever surface you run on

).

People always say this and I understand why, but I don’t think it’s true.

Running barefoot on hard ass concrete is not the same as running on concrete with trainers. It’s just not. Body adaption does not “even it out”.