Over the last year barefoot running has gone through a media blitz. Both major and niche news outlets have pumped the running technique that let’s your body work the way it was designed to work. Unfortunately, balanced analysis of has been few and far between and virtually all articles on the topic have been over the top in their adoration. Enter Dr. Ross Tucker ( Ph. D. in Exercise Physiology) and his “The Science Of Sport” blog. In a recent blog post Dr. Tucker argues the barefoot running community has fallen victim to circular logic. When a shod runner is injured, the shoes are blamed. When a barefoot runner is injured the response is “they weren’t doing it right”. This line of reasoning will always result in barefoot running coming out on top and stifling any critical analysis. Take a look at the whole article as well as the extensive set of comments.
The Science Of Sport-Barefoot Running And Injuries via Lisa Twight’s Twitter Feed
Peer reviewed, scientific journal articles have shown that barefoot running induces a lower impact force in exchange for more muscle involvement. No peer reviewed, scientific journal articles have shown that running barefoot or shod to any extent reduces instances of any injuries.
Also, I would appreciate it if you wouldn’t use my likeness to belittle my personal experiment.
Well said Mr. Webber. Your point “No peer reviewed, scientific journal articles have shown that running barefoot or shod to any extent reduces instances of any injuries” is in line with my review of the available material.
With regard to your suggestion that the article is using your “likeness to belittle [your] personal experiment” I’m not sure where you’re coming from. The article is not intended to belittle anyone or any viewpoint. It only points out that many proponents of barefoot running are using faulty arguments to support claims that there are less injuries when running barefoot(e.g. “if you get hurt you weren’t doing it right”).
Also, are you included in the picture above? The image is available on Flickr under a Creative Commons license. If you are indeed in the picture and after rereading the article you would still prefer it be removed please let me know.