Now that the weather is getting warmer, and the grass is soft and green we can take off our shoes in certain areas of the city. This will strengthen our feet.
"We’ve over-supported our feet [in running shoes] to the point that our foot doesn’t have to do what it’s designed to do," says Irene S. Davis, PhD, professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School and director of the Spaulding National Running Center. "When you support a muscle, it doesn’t have to work as hard. When it doesn’t have to work as hard, it gets weak."
Davis believes your body instinctively knows how to adjust when you shed your shoes or run in "barefoot shoes," extremely lightweight shoes designed to mimic barefoot running. Barefoot runners shorten their strides, reducing the impact on their lower bodies, and automatically flex their knees, hips, and ankles for a softer landing on hard surfaces, Davis says.