After two years of studies, running with flatter shoes made the foot stronger. No surprise – if you have read Born to Run, about the Tarahumares running around in flat sandals, you just nod.
But for most runners the case is turned upside down. They crave a shoe with the best and softest sole. Problem is; what happens then … what happens is that you and your foot relax, and leave everything to the shoe. Good? Apperently not, according to this:
«In summary, this is anecdotal, but these are the changes we are seeing in runners who have transitioned to less of a shoe. These results were seen and described by many in the barefoot running community and now we are exponentially increasing numbers as runners are switching to minimalist type shoes. This is just one documented example of many with photographic evidence that I have seen in my practice. Why is this so significant? Because this is proof that running in a minimalist shoe can strengthen intrinsic foot musculature which can then change the shape of the foot and arch over time. I hope to soon have more similar objective results published!»
Read the study here.