Our feet carry our body weight - several times more when we walk - throughout our lives. If we take the recommendation of 4,000-10,000 steps per day as a basis, we put an average of 200 million steps on our feet over the course of our lives.

Our foot consists of 28 bones, with 107 joints, which are passively held together by 57 ligaments and actively guided by 30 muscles. A quarter of our total bones are in our feet.

Special sensors (proprioceptors) constantly measure and report to our brain about the position of our joints. If necessary, the relevant muscles are activated to make position corrections.

If our feet are constantly wrapped in shoes,

cushioned, padded and guided, the proprioceptors become almost idle and our foot muscles atrophy.

Such footwear tempts us to move without the necessary tension in the muscles up to the torso. This leads to careless steps and a slack posture, which then affects the knee, hip, sacroiliac and vertebral joints.

Uncontrolled steps can lead to pain and premature joint wear, especially in our lower extremities.

Walking barefoot stimulates receptors and muscles to work more. They are challenged and trained more when you are barefoot.

When we are barefoot, we also perform our steps with a higher level of tension, meaning that the joints are subjected to physiological (correct-normal) stress. Overall, the movement "runs" with more tension and is therefore more controlled.

Walking barefoot or using barefoot shoes in everyday life makes sense for everyone.

Caution is advised if you are seriously overweight, have serious misalignments or have foot problems. In this case, you should approach walking barefoot carefully (increasing the duration gradually) and, if necessary, ask an orthopedic specialist for advice.

With the Kjavik One, you can insert insoles from the Insole System or your own orthopedic insoles for running shoes. This allows you to slowly get used to walking or running barefoot without too much risk of overloading or incorrectly loading the foot.

If you have your own orthopedic shoe insoles, you may need to choose shoes one size larger, depending on the thickness or height of the insoles.

Our rolling behavior under barefoot conditions changes with the speed of movement.

When we walk barefoot, we naturally use heel strike. Rolling over the heel is normal at this slow speed and should

cannot be changed.

When jogging or running barefoot, we physiologically roll over our midfoot and then over our toes.

When we sprint , we put our forefoot down and push off again straight away.

Midfoot running and forefoot running ensure fluid movement without strong braking forces on the ankle, knee and hip joints.

On flat terrain, we run barefoot on the midfoot or forefoot, depending on the speed. Uphill we usually run on the forefoot, downhill we tend to run on the heel (midfoot and forefoot running are also possible on less steep downhill sections, with a loss of stability).

Midfoot running and forefoot running place increased strain on the ball of the foot. It supports several times our body weight. The muscles, tendons and ligaments of the foot are subjected to greater strain. The entire foot should slowly get used to this strain. This also applies to the calf muscles and the Achilles tendon.

However, the twisting of the Achilles tendon can be reduced by midfoot/forefoot running.

Runners without other complaints benefit from midfoot and forefoot running due to the more fluid movement, the reduction of impact forces on the joints and the avoidance of excessive pronation or supination movements with the risk of overload injuries. Overall, posture becomes more controlled.

People with acute Achilles tendon problems or overstrain of the calf muscles should avoid mid-forefoot running - at least in the acute phase. Overweight people and people with foot problems in the ball area (such as inflammation of the sesamoid bones, bursitis, Morton's neuroma, bunion) should avoid this running style or should do so with caution and seek advice if necessary.

If there are misalignments or problems, shoe insoles can ensure that the underlying problems do not become worse. At least in the first few weeks or months, it is a good idea to continue using orthopedic shoe insoles if you wear the shoes for a longer period of time. The use of the special insoles can be gradually reduced if no problems arise.

In my opinion, we should give our feet some variety - in everyday life and when running.

In everyday life, you often walk barefoot or in barefoot shoes, possibly on different surfaces.

For running, it is important to use several different running shoes and to alternate between different types of terrain. (The initial investment for the shoes is higher, but over the years you don't spend more than that, because a decent running shoe lasts around 1000 km, depending on the quality of the shoe and your body weight).

Our feet therefore do not get used to one pair of shoes, but have to constantly adapt and be exposed to different stimuli.

Varied terrain does not encourage careless movements, but rather forefoot and rearfoot running or heel rolling are required. On flat terrain it makes sense to wear barefoot shoes (unless you need to be careful as described above).

Ligaments, tendons and muscles need time to adapt. Ligaments and tendons should be given up to 12 weeks to adapt to a new style. So don't change too quickly, but gradually increase the duration or number of kilometers you wear them and feel how your feet react. Don't wear the barefoot shoes every time you run, but only every third or fourth session, for example. This can be increased over a period of weeks if your feet allow it.

Exceptions prove the rule. The information in the text is an average. We are all individuals and often do not represent the average in all characteristics.

A heel striker can run tens of thousands of kilometers throughout his life without any problems, while an overweight runner can complete marathons using his midfoot without any problems.

If complaints occur, experience and average values ​​help to find explanations and possibly solutions to the problems.

Barefoot walking is not a cure-all, but it can make an important contribution to improving or even eliminating joint pain in the lower extremities or trunk.

Author's note:

In this article, we will refrain from using both the male and female forms when referring to people. The male form applies to all genders in all cases where this is not explicitly excluded.