Barefoot question

Submitted by gr8fl on March 15, 2015 - 11:44am
Body: 

I've got a question about walking around barefoot. I had a conversation the other day with a family member who is in the medical profession. He stated that the worst thing you can do is to walk barefoot on basically any surface besides grass. He said walking around your home on concrete, hard wood, and I suppose even carpet/rugs was terrible for your feet. He said that he treats patients all the time with foot pain and he tells them to make sure to wear shoes/slippers of some kind when walking inside and not to go barefoot- unless in grass (I assume he would consider sand an ideal surface as well though it wasn't specifically mentioned in our conversation). Long story short, he claims that these patients come back a month later and all say that their foot pain has greatly improved now that they are no longer walking barefoot in their homes.

None of that made sense to me as I always walk barefoot in my house (hardwood floor on main level with throw rugs, and carpet in bedrooms/basement). I'm particularly concerned about this because my young daughter already has very worrisome feet. She is very flat footed and tends to roll in on her feet as she walks. Her large toes are already beginning to turn 'inward' toward her other toes rather than face straight forward. I've been telling her to keep her shoes off as much as possible and I am working with her to raise up on her toes. She has horrible hip turn out. I tried to do the 3rd Yoga tape with her and the one exercise/stretch at the beginning of the dvd where you lie on your back with your knees bent, heels together and hips turned out caused her incredible discomfort. In this position, my knees are basically touching the floor and I could probably fall asleep! She has always been somewhat hypotonic, poor coordination, etc. Because I now know how important healthy feet are to the entirety of our bodies, not just pelvic stability, I'm quite concerned.

I do know that western medicine, which is what my family member was trained in and practices, has really no clue about these things, but his anecdotal message about what he seems to see in his practice, was worrisome.

Thoughts? -gr8fl

Forum:

Aging gracefully

March 15, 2015 - 12:55pm

Hi gr8fl,
I have to wonder if the problem really isn't going barefoot or not, but how we are walking. I personally had expensive arch supports, expensive high quality shoes, but I was still a heel striker and pronator. Even with all this support, I ended up with plantar fasciitis, knees hurt, and my hips ached all the time.
So, if people would change their walking style from heel striking to more of the front of the foot first followed by heel, would your medical relative see as many foot problems?

Surviving60

March 15, 2015 - 1:17pm

I had a similar reaction to AG's when I read this post. What were these folks doing wrong all their lives, that brought them to a doctor in the first place? I personally won't be following that advice because inside is the only place I CAN walk barefoot where I live. And I know that it's good for my arches, hips and posture. - Surviving

Sierra

March 15, 2015 - 3:18pm

I was just noticing earlier today while trying my new toe alignment stuff that when I'm on hardwood floors and am barefoot, I can "hear" my heel strike. It's like electric shock therapy to correct a bad habit. You shouldn't hear a thud when you hear someone coming.

The shoes enable their patients to continue to heal strike and pronate without immediate pain. Later they have spine issues (hip back and foot pain) and then, again, foot issues. It turns the foot problem into a bigger problem over time. This keeps the pediatrists and the spine surgeons in business. Check the statistics. They are incredible and are getting worse in modern culture.

Surviving60

March 15, 2015 - 4:08pm

Gr8fl, I am impressed with your flexibility and natural degree of hip turnout. Has this improved greatly with the WW work? I too can lie in that position quite comfortably, especially with some lower back support under me; but my knees are still several inches off the ground.

Not sure what to say about your daughter. What kind of shoes does she normally wear? I would suggest a dance class, where they would have her doing more with her feet, while wearing very minimal or no footwear; but then one has to worry about too much "suck and tuck" stuff. Depending on her age, it might just have to suffice that you start to plant the seed that makes her aware of what these issues can mean for her later in life. Work with her as much as she'll let you......one day she will say "mom was right!". - Surviving

Sierra

March 15, 2015 - 4:14pm

g8fl, Get her while you can. Mine is 19 years-old and has terrible posture and won't even stay in the room with me if I try to discuss ANYTHING about health or posture with her. I just can't say anything anymore. I said plenty when she was young, but she's the rebellious type.

My little niece takes different types of dance class, rotating every several months. This seems to keep her interest and is not over-doing any particular bad form. Her feet and gait are improving. She's 7 and has been doing it for almost 2 years.

Aussie Soul Sister

March 15, 2015 - 5:42pm

Dear g8fl,
This is a link to a recent thread about feet and my post, which has a link to Christine's blog article on "Balance - The Sixth Sense" - my favourite of all her research.

Adding also that the hips DVD has a comprehensive section on foot / gait exercises & help for hips, which I have done regularly - I recommend the DVD as I believe it is suitable for almost anyone.

The other DVDs do have great exercises & dance also, however I feel more balanced and even on both sides, ( I had hip instability and extremely tight contracted muscles all over ), enabling me to do the other DVDs, from this foundation.

I have started running a little now, in WWP now barefoot, on toes, breathing through my nose. I have nearly always avoided running, now I find it amazing, and plan to do more.
Just another thought as a write, - if your daughter is not belly breathing, & nose breathing 24/7 that is one of the fundamentals of childhood development in conjunction with the foot arch, lumbar curve and development of the acetabular roof of the hips which house the hip joint. I used to be a mouth & upper chest breather- all night and often throughout the day.

https://www.wholewoman.com/forum/comment/49795#comment-49795

Wishing you and your daughter all the best,
Aussie Soul Sister

gr8fl

March 15, 2015 - 5:42pm

we all seem to be on the same page, but it's reassuring for me to hear it. I asked the exact same kinds of questions, ie: have the women been cramming their feet into either high heels or shoes with pointy toe boxes? What shoes have the men been wearing? What sort of a lifestyle do they lead and of course, how is their posture? But he was adamant that changing this one variable (not walking around their homes barefoot) alleviated much of the pain instantly. But I'm very suspicious of this. But then again, he tells me that in his experience virtually all of his patients willing to share (he's not an obgyn) who have had a hysterectomy also 'complain'- but their complaint is that they are kicking themselves for not having done it sooner, 'best thing they've ever done'...that sort of thing. I know that he's not lying to me. This is truly the message that they are sharing with him....heavy sigh....

I would say that I came into WWW with this level of hip flexibility. I spent so many years dancing (ballet) and have had that level of turnout for as long as I can remember. For example, take that position (on your back, soles of feet together, knees bent) and instead imagine keeping that position, but flipping over so that you are on your stomach. Very much like a frog. I can still do this with my legs entirely pressed against the floor, all the way down to my feet- and comfortably. But that's just my hips- my hamstrings are entirely another matter...ugh. So very tight, but I'm still plugging away on them. :) I think this level of flexibility is atypical, so it does help to hear S60 that you can be in this posture, still have your knees a few inches above the ground, but still be comfortable. I'll have my kiddo work on this, not so much to see how close to the ground her knees can get, but with the goal to be able to do it so that it's a comfortable stretch.

My daughter has the running shoes also with the inserts for arch support. She wears these and some flats that also have arch support. I've been perusing the web for additional help with this matter and there seem to be two schools of thought. The more popular one is where people use lots of additional support. The less popular one, but the one that appeals to me more, is to use less support but actively work to strengthen the feet/arches. Toe raises are included as is an exercise where you 'scrunch' your toes as though you are trying to pick something up off the floor with them.....On a side note, it was wonderful to see her raise up on her toes AND be in WW posture. As we were standing at the mirror and I was trying to get her to pull up fully into WW, I couldn't help but feel she just wasn't quite getting it and I was at a loss to help get her there. But when she raised up on her toes, she immediately seemed to get that full lengthening and raised chest, etc. Part of the problem is that she is young, but very full chested. She's emotionally not comfortable with it, so when I tell her to really pull her chest up and proud, she just rolls her eyes at me. I know she is simply not comfortable doing anything that will draw more attention to her breasts. As her very non well-endowed mother, it doesn't help for me to tell her how beautiful she is....she just doesn't see it yet. But I'll keep trying. I even had her put her hair in a high ponytail the other day just so I could gently pull on it to demonstrate what that feeling should be and how it gently tucks her chin, etc. We spent time just lying on our backs doing deep belly breathing. She is already an official 'rib cage' breather. :( She already sucks in her stomach. :( Breaks my heart, but I will keep trying to get that lightbulb to go off for her. I have to keep reminding myself that I wasn't the best listener when I was her age either...

Thank you again everyone!- gr8fl

Ps- I also thought about dance classes for her, but I'm not sure she'd be willing and I also would be extremely worried that they'd demand the suck-tuck posture. (It was years ago, but mine sure did) I have the FAFP dvd- I'm going have her begin to do this work. I think Christine's dance moves will be extremely helpful, especially the first part which is a little more basic.

gr8fl

March 15, 2015 - 5:51pm

Our posts crossed paths. :)

Completely agree about the hips video- though I don't have it yet, it is at the top of my list. Been working on saving up and am hoping to be able to get it in the next few months. I do have the FAFP, and all three Yoga wheels, but also have the feeling that it is really the hips DVD that I'm needing most for my daughter. And yes, she is, sadly, now a chest breather. I'm going to continue to work to get her to return to her natural belly breathing. It's just doubly hard with a teen who is so uncomfortable in her own skin. She is still so young, but has such a mature looking body, while some of her friends have barely hit puberty. To get her to embrace her chest and pull up proudly and let her belly be relaxed...it's going to be an uphill battle...and yet I don't want to turn it into a battle because then she'll really rebel....what a fine line I must walk! (But I'll walk it in WW posture and barefooted! :)

I'll definitely reread Christine's blog and your link. Thank you again!

gr8fl

ActiveandLapsed

March 16, 2015 - 12:36am

I found the position on the floor you mentioned difficult as my hips are very inflexible and tight but it has been getting better with WW work. I think having tight hips makes the posture harder too but as they loosen it feels more natural. My hips DVD is on the way so that will be interesting.

We have very hard floors where we are and I am barefoot all the time (or socks) now and it is fine in WW but if standing for a while then I put rubber jandals on sometimes as my feet get sore. I have been walking on concrete and grass and not had any problems barefoot but it used to hurt when I was a heal first walker. I must be absorbing that shock in WW posture and distributing it as Christine says to the right place. If the shock is distributed wrong then yes it would make it sore and shoes would help me. I used to have all the great walking/running shoes.

Re the shoes in the house didn't people used to live on dirt that was often hard underfoot? I can appreciate it is easy for us to say go barefoot but still an important consideration in doing the right thing for your daughter to check this out.

Sierra

March 16, 2015 - 8:08am

g8fl, I am sure that your relative doctor does get positive feedback from his patients that get relief when they stop walking on hard surfaces. It's a BIG bandaid on the symptom, which is so prevalent in modern medicine. It's how that wheel turns. My OB/GYN is a good friend and she truly cares about me and my health. However, she tried to help me (POP) with her medical journal knowledge and accompanying big suitcase of bandaids which involved Kegals, a pessary, possible laser treatment at Duke). It's not for lack of caring, it's genuine but misguided care.