Changes

There is also a growing body of anecdotal evidence that moving from traditional running [[Shoes]] to minimalist [[Shoes]] or barefoot cures chronic problems<ref name="ref9"/>. My experience is part of that anecdotal evidence. I used to find that I would suffer various nagging injuries, mostly around the knee, hip or ankle until I swapped to a more minimalist shoe. Here is an analogy. Imagine you are running through the woods blindfolded. This is painful, because you keep running into trees. To ease the pain, you get a bigger, more padded blindfold. This helps a bit, as it cushions the pain of hitting the trees, but does not solve the problem. If you take off the blindfold, you will actually see the trees. Running in traditional running [[Shoes]] is like running blindfolded. Your feet are very sensitive so that they can detect and adapt to the surface.

A study comparing a traditional running show (Nike Pegasus) with a minimalist shoe (Nike Free 3.0) that provided 30% less cushioning<ref name="Willy-2014"/>. The study found that the impact forces at an 8:00 min/mile pace were higher with the minimalist shoe, and the runners landed with more of a heel strike. This result may be due to the lack of adaptation, as the runners only wore the minimalist shoes for 10 minutes, giving them no time to adjust. The authors concluded that runners should be careful while changing to minimalist shoes as the short term risk of injury may be higher. (The study did not repeat the test after a longer adaptation period.)