Letters to the Editor
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Barefoot is best
Actually, I would go barefoot everywhere if I could. The hell with shoes. The only time I actually wear them is in the winter and when I have to in the summer.
It does have it's problems though. I once accidentally went to work without shoes (casual desk job at night) as I usually carry shoes in my car - at least flip flops, crocs or Teva's. Ended up staying put behind the desk for most of the 8 hour shift so no one would find out.
Speaking of crocs, I would have ten pairs of those! Like walking around in bedroom slippers. Not made for hiking though.
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this is great news!
This means that not only is my preference to go barefoot as much as possible is a healthy choice, but my love of shoes of all types is now a healthy passion as well!
Think I will do a little surfing at zappos this afternoon.
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The Explanation is Simple
Someone wants to use this "news" as a way to make money. Ooga booga! Now, step into my office, I will "treat" you, and you will pay me a fee.
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If nothing else,
this makes me feel better about my dislike of shoes. I have wide, flat feet with no arch whatsoever, and plodding around barefoot or minimally-shod (thin flip flops, etc) is SO much more comfortable than 99% of shoes. I always worried that this might just exacerbate my pancaked duck feet, but now I just won't worry so much about getting "supportive" shoes if the low tech ones are more comfortable.
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Re-install your medical diagnostic software, Electro
"Most individuals with hookworm infection have no symptoms. Generally, very high loads of the parasite coupled with poor nutrition (inadequate intake of protein and iron) eventually lead to anemia." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hookworm
I know it shatters a young robot's illusions when he finds out that his anti-hippie firmware is lies, but I'm sure you'll clooge through it.
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what about ballet slippers?
Not the "ballet flats" Target sells, not pointe shoes, but the flat leather sock-like things ballet dancers wear? I have a pair of these and do occasionally wear them to work. They're probably the closest thing to walking barefoot in the city I'd do (I have to cross Bourbon St. for God's sake--NO WAY am I doing that barefoot).
I walk a mile each way to and from work, and don't have any sort of heel pain--probably because I almost never wear high heels.
They do make you walk different, though. My hips and knees naturally have a lot of turn-out, so I tend to walk on the outsides of my heels. It's only when I'm wearing shoes that won't let me do that--ie, wearing narrow-heeled shoes, that I get pain in my heels, knees, and hips.
As for sandals, Saltwaters are WAY more comfortable than flip-flops. You don't have to use your toes to grip that little thing--they're strapped onto your feet!
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shoes can hurt you
I have permanent tendon and muscle damage from being forced to take ballet before age 5, and being forced to walk around my house in toe shoes for hours each day (beginning at age 5 through age 8). The toe shoes lacked any padding, cotton or lamb's wool, as my mother saw that as a way to buffer pain--and she didn't believe in buffering pain. My feet are shaped like (though not as small as) those of Asian women whose feet were bound for years. My arches are so high that they stick up and out of all shoes; my toes curl up like they were molded to elf shoes.
Wearing heels over one inch hurts immediately and profoundly. I can feel the strain in each muscle of my foot, and my ankles will lock up in minutes. I have to stretch my calves on special foam boards several times a day to retain the ability to walk my dog.
I have trouble walking in almost any shoes for distances greater than .25 mile due to chronich inflammatory pain in my feet, calves and ankles. This childhood torture means I can NEVER walk quickly or jog--if I was in danger and had to run while being chased, the likelihood is that I would be caught and killed. The pain in my legs is so intense it feels like having a branding iron applied to my skin, muscle and bone with each step.
Don't think you can't hurt yourself for a little glamour. And don't force your kids into shoes made for adults.
Thanks, mom. You won't be getting a card this year, so I hope you're reading this.
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Pointe shoes at 5?
rennet--whoever put you in toe shoes at age 5 had no business teaching ballet. Contrary to some beliefs, ballet does NOT harm the body if one is properly trained and works within her natural turnout range. At any respectable ballet school, serious training cannot begin before age 7 or 8 (and by serious I still mean maybe 2-3 hours a week), and pointe shoe work shouldn't begin until you've been a ballet student for 4 years, and usually not before age 11. No wonder you have foot problems! That ballet school you went to should be shut down.