Shoes

Submitted by goldfinch1 on March 25, 2009 - 5:43pm
Body: 

I came across an ad for some shoes called MBI or Masai Barefoot Technology. The Masai are a semi-nomadic tribe from East Africa known for having excellent posture and almost never experiencing joint or back pain. The Masai have apparently adapted their bodies by walking barefoot on the soft, sandy Mara plain, developing natural shock absorbers that protect their back, knee and hip joints. This shoe is supposed to emulate that by relieving stress on joints, exercising muscles and strenghtening the entire musculo-skeletal system.

My question is - would these shoes be good or bad for maintaining WW posture? Here is a link to the website:

http://www.naturalizer.com/Content.aspx?contentID=mbt02

Thank you for your opinions. They are VERY expensive, and I would not want to spend the money if they are detrimental.

Goldfinch

granolamom

March 25, 2009 - 7:41pm

I really think the only way to know if they help or hinder is to try them.
that said, I won't be trying them. while its entirely possible that these shoes are the best thing since sliced bread, it seems too gimmicky to be true to me. I would guess that there are alot of factors going on which protect the masai from joint or back pain, and I dont think we need special shoes to improve our posture. also, I'm very cynical about these kinds of things so dont' take my word as gospel on this one.

would love to hear about it if anyone's actually tried these shoes.

louiseds

March 25, 2009 - 8:55pm

Hi Goldfinch

We have discussed these before. Try searching the Forums for the discussion. I can see the logic behind them, but I like to stay close to the ground. I think they would be like wearing platform soles.

L

kiki

March 26, 2009 - 1:28am

i have a few friends with them. look at the website, i think there's a video. they advocate a posture that is helped with the shoes that is the total opposite of the WW posture. friends say they are incredibly comfortable, but i'm not convinced i could healthily stay in WW posture with them.
but look at teh website--been a while since i looked, but was interesting...

goldfinch1

March 26, 2009 - 5:19am

Louise - I did see the post from 2007. But with all of our new members since then, I was hoping there might be some new feedback.

G

louiseds

March 27, 2009 - 7:50am

Hi Goldfinch

Go for it. There may be some newer members with some new input. I think there might have been another thread earlier, maybe on the old Forum, a lot of which was lost in the migration. It certainly doesn't cme up in a Search.

Just for the record, I was in a hospital today (a place that could be described as Hysterectomy Central - quite creepy.) DD was having a knee reconstruction, so she was safe. Oh those poor other women, selling their souls to the devil - whoa! that's a bit strong!) Whoops, I think I just had too much Red with my pizza.

The Admissions nurse was wearing MBT's and had them for the last six weeks. She was very happy with them, and many of the other nurses also wore them. Really cut down on the sore feet at the end of a shift. They are on their feet all day on concrete floors and reckon they are good value, even though they are about twice the cost of other good quality walking shoes. I have also seen nursing staff at a different hospital wearing them.

Even though there was a comment made that they encourage the wrong type of posture, I think that most of the population has such shocking posture anyway that any change in posture would be an improvement! For a woman using Wholewoman posture, the results may be unpredictable. They may also be neutral. I doubt that the results could be that bad.

I suggest that you go and have a lurk at your local hospital and see if any nurses are wearing them.

Cheers

Louise

leona777

April 1, 2009 - 3:21pm

Hi,

Here is a link that questions the safety of these shoes:

http://www.jefflewis.net/blog/2007/07/massai_barefoot_technology_sho_1.html

If there is even the possibility of damage I wouldn't wear them.

Good Luck,
Donna

goldfinch1

April 1, 2009 - 5:03pm

Donna - Thank you so much for posting that link. It is chock full of information, and I really appreciate it!

I have decided not to purchase the shoes, and the information in this web page helped me make up my mind.

Again thank you for the information.

Goldfinch :-)

louiseds

April 1, 2009 - 8:32pm

Hi Goldfinch

I would imagine that nurses pounding the concrete for all of every shift could benefit from these shoes, maybe for different reasons than the designers intended. As Jeff says in his blog, there are many factors at work.

It is curious, is it not, that no Members have posted about using them? Every time I go to the city I see either retail outlets selling them, or people wearing them.

I would encourage Members to 'casually interrogate' women they see wearing them if this is your local custom. We talk to perfect strangers in Australia, not sure about anywhere else. Only in this way can we find out what people who wear them do in them, and how they think they are different. We are not going to get that sort of information from a website that promotes them. I suspect that most people who wear them regularly spend a lot of their working day on their feet on concrete floors, and are not able to change that.

I am not a masai tribeswoman, but I would guess that the masai do not spend a lot of time walking on soft moss or beach sand. They would more likely spend a lot of time barefoot, coping with prickles, hard pebbles, splinters, sticks, sun-baked earth, grassland (not well-watered turf lawn), rock and lions! Yes, they do a lot of walking. No doubt quite a bit of running too! They are nomadic herders of cattle. But they would also do a lot of sitting down in the shade of a tree as well. They are very athletic, and very 'good looking in a 21st century, cool, aesthetic' way. Maybe 'Masia' was chosen as the name for the brand, for their popular image, rather than anything to do with their lifestyle. Ohhhh, why am I so cynical!

Cheers

Louise