Longterm side effects of barefoot walking? page 2

[Rasputina]

And by barefoot I mean BARE-FOOT, I've taken a liking to the full barefoot march, the only time I wear shoes is to go into stores(even then if I could get away without I would. I've been warned by my girlfriends mother that long term effect can include some damage to my feet, true/false?

Splinters.

[mike_h]

You might end up with permanently dirtier/darker skin under your feet.
Mine are like that, doesn't bother me though.

[Concrete Indian]

You might end up with permanently dirtier/darker skin under your feet.
Mine are like that, doesn't bother me though.

Girlfriend gets mad at finding shrubbery in my hair, my skin turning bronze, my hair bring thick and black as night the fact that I seem to be a dirt magnet and that my hair belongs on a woman...I just turn around and tell her i'm native-deal with it but the dirty feet thing isn't a problem for me, beats the sock/shoe induced stank by a long shot.

[Dr. Bork Bork]

The only long term damage you'll have is if you accidentally impale your foot on something. Other than that, cool runnings!

[texas.grok]

I have been barefoot as much as possible for 2 years. Other than some tough skin, I have had no longterm effects that I can tell. My knee pain has almost gone away, I feel better overall when barefoot, I think there is something to the grounding theory going on here. I have become much more aware of where I'm walking. Even to tough feet or wearing VFF, a nail or piece of sharp glass will ruin your day. I have had a couple of punctures but they healed quickly. Only thing I can think of on the long term affects is how much you hate putting your feet back into shoes after you have gotten used to being barefoot.

Why Does Walking Barefoot on the Earth Make You Feel Better? | Your Olive Branch News - yobo

[The Return of Dado]

Long term side effect of barefoot walking and running is an increase in ball size.

[Reindeer]

If you have not done the transition to 'barefoot running', aka running on your forefoot, then chances are that you're still running on your heels even if you take your shoes off. Repeatedly landing on your heels on concrete, without any padded shoes to take the impact for you = bad.

You will also attract injury if you don't slowly build up your muscles, and just go from full-time shoes to full-time barefoot. These are two realistic worries, and it's possible that your girlfriend is referring to any of these. But if you use some knowledge and common sense to avoid issues such as these, then I would not worry. The heel/forefoot running is a controversial question, but I'd throw my two cents in with these guys everyday. As long as you avoid stepping on sharp shit, you're fine.

[slowcooker]

I've mashed up one of my toes to the point of going for xrays thinking it was broken. Turns out it's just connective tissue. Still not going to wear shoes if I don't have to

[Concrete Indian]

If you have not done the transition to 'barefoot running', aka running on your forefoot, then chances are that you're still running on your heels even if you take your shoes off. Repeatedly landing on your heels on concrete, without any padded shoes to take the impact for you = bad.

You will also attract injury if you don't slowly build up your muscles, and just go from full-time shoes to full-time barefoot. These are two realistic worries, and it's possible that your girlfriend is referring to any of these. But if you use some knowledge and common sense to avoid issues such as these, then I would not worry. The heel/forefoot running is a controversial question, but I'd throw my two cents in with these guys everyday. As long as you avoid stepping on sharp shit, you're fine.

To put my transition into VFF's into context, the entire extent of any pain exhibited was completely negligible and existed completely within my baby toe on my left foot. Toe stroking while actually running, well sprinting barefoot came as natural to me as breathing, buy I can't barefoot "jog"for lack of a better term. My natural gait is the same speed as the average joggers jogging speed, minus the while bouncing up and down bit. It's because when indoors I was/am barefoot as often as possible. I was simply trying to put her and her mothers concerns at rest. Sadly I'm to PR to be called eccentric I have to deal with being called nuts. Lol

[sbhikes]

Long term damage of being barefoot: You will never find a pair of shoes other than flip-flops that will fit. It also might take many weeks for the deep-down dirt in the heel cracks and toe crevices to disappear if you have been walking out on the dusty.