Bare Your Sole

Hey gang. Ellie here. Story time.

These are my feet :) They have miles on them. They haven't always been treated kindly. I'm working on that.

I spent a lot of my youth barefoot. As I grew up, I started spending more time in shoes. Since my grandfather believed in having supportive shoes, we chose ones with arches and solid soles. But eventually my feet began to ache, along with my low back.

In 2010, I learned about minimal shoes (no arches, flexible soles, wide toe boxes). I gave them a try. My feet eased, I felt more balanced, and my low back felt less stiff as compared with wearing a heel. But at that time there weren’t many minimal options. And eventually I fell back into wearing traditional footwear.

My midfoot ache returned. Increasing responsibilities kept me on my feet working, walking miles, getting stepped on by farm animals, and carrying children. Sore blistered feet became a norm I accepted. But when I faced a heath struggle a couple years ago, I had to rethink that, and consider whatever might contribute to balance and proprioception.

By this time, both the research and the options had grown in minimal footwear. I chose a new pair, and set a goal to let my feet flex and move as much as possible. Turns out this became more important to my health journey than I imagined it would. And now, as a therapist and coach, I see daily the connection of foot capacity to knee, hip, spine and kinesthetic function.

The feet contain about a quarter of the 200+ bones found in the body. Some shoe types restrict intended function of all those joints and tissues. It’s a paradigm shift to think of a foot like we do the hip or shoulder, but imagine binding a shoulder daily and trying to function with full joint capacity, circulation, or neurological control.

Spending time in minimal footwear and bare soles has helped many in physical therapy, sports, and fitness, alongside learning to train the feet like we do other joints. At Excelsior, we teach you how in the clinic and in Kinstretch.

What's your foot story? Aches, bunions, fallen arches, surgery? Ever tried minimal style shoes? We often recommend one of our favorite brands to start: XeroShoes.com.

#xeroshoes