With all the talk surrounding healthy lifestyles, such as avoiding sugar and processed foods, an equally important matter is often overlooked: your shoes! Healthy feet are key for proper functioning movement, if you are unable to move appropriately you may find yourself injured. If you’re not moving because you’re injured, you’re at greater risk of more serious health issues.
The bad shoe problem
Most of us, around 95%, are born with feet that are pretty healthy; however, years of stuffing them into standard off-the-shelf shoes that are ill-fitting causes our feet to distort into an unnatural shoe shape, which can later cause people to suffer from serious foot pain and problems.
The long-suffering recreational runners
Studies have shown that approximately 79% of runners who run recreationally will, sooner or later, incur a running-related limb injury. What we are starting to learn is that when we increase the cushioning in a running shoe, runners have to adjust the way they run which seems to be associated with a range of running-related injuries.
A sedentary lifestyle
A sedentary lifestyle is one which lacks any physical activity, this has a profoundly negative impact on our overall health. According to the World Health Organisation, around 60-85% of individuals who live a sedentary life contribute to the top 10 causes of death in the West. It can lead to a range of problems like obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and depression. Anything you can do to improve your movement is a step in the right direction; even if it’s something as simple as investing in a properly-fitting pair of shoes.
Feet first
Modern life makes living pretty easy, but moving pretty hard. We have to be really quite mindful to ensure we get moving and keep healthy. There is much evidence to suggest that when it comes to encouraging healthy natural movement, you’ve really got to start with your feet first. The main things you want to look into are as follows:
- Wide toe box shoes
- Thin, or no, heels
- Flexible support
These three simple factors can help you embrace the full movement of your feet and stave off issues that may arise from not moving enough, or running in inadequate shoes.
Order Your Minimalist Shoes Today
Here at The Last Shoemaker, we are thrilled to announce our brand new range of bespoke minimalist shoes, for men and women, which make for ideal running shoes. Our minimalist shoes can be custom-made to be completely zero-drop or barefoot, or more transitional for those looking to slowly switch over to barefoot shoes. If you have any questions about our traditional shoe-making services, we would love to hear from you, so do not hesitate to contact us.