Barefoot training can be a useful form of therapy for managing foot pain and more. For example, barefoot training can help prevent foot injuries and relieve pain from current foot injuries by strengthening your feet. It can also help to relieve pain and discomfort associated with ankle instability, ACL injuries, lower back pain, and knee and hip injuries, among other related problems.
How Barefoot Training Works
Barefoot training helps stabilize your foot and ankle by strengthening your muscles. It can help strengthen your arches, knees, and hips, as well as improve balance and muscle alignment. It can further improve your mobility, flexibility, neuromuscular pathways, and range of motion. As a result of barefoot training, you’ll likely also experience fewer foot injuries and issues, as well as reduced foot odor!
Barefoot training will help your feet better absorb shocks from movement. If your feet can’t properly absorb shocks — perhaps due to the type of shoes you’re wearing — then the connective joints and tissues in your foot become stressed, which can then increase your chances of injury.
If you’re a runner, running barefoot can help reduce your chances of a severe running injury. Stress fractures, for example, may occur as a result of your heels striking against the insoles of your shoes.
When to See a Barefoot Training Specialist
If you recently injured your foot or ankle and are still experiencing pain despite following other courses of treatment, then it’s worth considering barefoot training as a way to strengthen your foot to reduce pain. In order to reduce the risk of injury from barefoot training, be sure to ease into any barefoot training program; it may take some time to adjust to increased barefoot activity.
Schedule an Appointment
If you’re interested in barefoot training to relieve your foot pain, contact Casteel Foot and Ankle Center to schedule an appointment with a barefoot training specialist. After examination, our specialists will design an effective program that suits your lifestyle, foot pain, and other needs.