Old Mother Hen believes that the natural body should be the baseline from which we measure normal. But shoes - where to begin!
The human foot has evolved very nicely to propel the human body. Solid heel, flexible toes, one-quarter of the bones in the human body, the foot is good at what it does. So why do people's feet hurt all the time?
Shoes. Shoes are a health disaster.
Here are the criteria for a healthy shoe:
1. Flat heel to toe.
2. Widest at the toes - the front end.
3. Flexible sole.
And no so-called "arch support"! The arch needs to move!
Oh, and light weight. The lighter the better.
Shoes that don't follow these rules cause feet to become deformed. A foot is naturally widest at the toes - toes should spread out like a fan. Years of wearing shoes with tapering toe boxes forces toes together and causes problems like bunions, corns, hammertoes, and general ugliness. Raised heels cause knee problems - see the work from the founder of Oesh Shoes. The folks at Natural Footgear have posted lots of articles describing the ways shoes harm feet.
Old Mother Hen knows this because her feet hurt for years. In the 1980s I always wore shoes that were too small. Those shoe measuring devices are mostly useless, and shoe salespeople always check fit based on the big toe - which can leave the other toes crammed into a tiny space. In the 1990s I had a soft corn on the inside of my left little toe - horrible burning pain. Lady lawyer dress shoes certainly didn't help. In the 2000s, I had metatarsalgia and years of shinsplints. I wore Dansko clogs, I bought gel pads, and nothing helped.
Merrell introduced its first barefoot shoes in 2012 or so, and my life changed. After three or four months of wearing the original barefoot pace glove, the metatarsalgia went away, never to be seen again. My toes could spread out! The shoes moved with my feet! No more shinsplints or heel blisters from a stiff sole and hard heel counter!
Sadly Merrell has largely abandoned its minimalist shoe offerings. (Merrell, you changed my life! Barefoot shoes are really a thing!) But fortunately lots of other companies have filled in the gap.
Okay, not lots. But a few. Enough. How many shoes does anyone need?
OMH will be posting detailed reviews of some of her favorites, but for the moment, here are a few possibilities of shoes for people looking for footwear that works with them, not against them.
Lems makes some nice shoes. I love the Primals, I've grown to love the Boulder Boots (though I don't love any ankle restriction) and Old Daddy Rooster finds the Nine to Five great for dress-up.
Altra Running is great, at least in its more minimal models. (The thicker the sole, the stiffer the performance and the less efficient the rebound - like hiking in sand or mud.) Super points for the wide toe box. I wore a pair of Altra Superiors (2.0) for the Tour du Mont Blanc last summer and had ZERO foot problems. (Reviews of recent models all complain that Altra has narrowed their toe box. Let's hope that's not so!)
Xero Shoes makes nice minimalist sandals. I wore their Z-Trail sandal all around Mexico City and the pyramids at Teotihuacan and love them. Old Daddy Rooster adores their new shoe, the Ipari Hana.
In the winter I live in fleece-lined Crocs, though they're awful for walking. I like Havaiana sandals in the summer.
And... well, there's not much else. Almost every shoe has arch support, almost every shoe has a raised heel, and just try to find a toe box wide enough to accommodate your little piggies. Currently Old Mother Hen is longing for an attractive and insulated pair of leather boots - something to wear with dresses? - (if she ever wears dresses again...) and some insulated low-top walking shoes. Cold is a real problem for hen toes.
A bright point on the horizon - Joe Nimble shoes are supposed to appear in the U.S. this year! OMH has high hopes.
