Barefoot Therapy

If you still need an excuse to go barefoot, do it for your health. You can even tell people you’re undergoing special rehabilitation by order of the doctor. The fact is, being barefoot can help restore normal muscle function in the feet better than any other therapy. It accomplishes this by allowing normal movement and improving foot-sense.

If you’re not used to being barefoot, start by walking unshod around your home. It’s best without socks, but a thin pair would be acceptable if your feet get cold. Walk on the bare floor, carpeted areas, basement cement, and any surfaces available. Different surfaces will provide different types of stimulation for your bare feet. That’s what you’re looking for—a variety of stimulation to restore normal foot-sense.

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If you have not ventured outdoors after a couple of weeks, take the plunge. This will provide much more foot stimulation because the ground is uneven and not smooth like your indoor surfaces. Walking on grass, dirt, sand, and other natural surfaces will provide great motivation for your feet to improve foot-sense. Even your driveway, sidewalk, and porch can provide additional types of stimulus for your feet. Eventually progress to running short distances.

I’m barefoot indoors at all times, and also spend time outdoors barefoot. I have never sustained cuts or injury other than minor scrapes on occasion, even when running barefoot.

After a couple of more weeks being barefoot, especially with outdoor activity, your foot function should be improving and your feet should feel better. During this period, you should also be wearing shoes that fit properly and better match your feet. This may mean buying new ones and also disposing of the ones that don’t fit. Unlike clothing, don’t keep your tight-fitting shoes, thinking your feet will someday get smaller. They won’t.

Once you’ve established better foot function through healthy barefoot adaptation, it’s important to maintain two habits. First, spend as much time as possible being barefoot throughout the year. Even when the weather is bad, being barefoot indoors virtually all the time can help maintain proper foot function. Second, once you’ve weaned off bad shoes and restored good foot function, be careful not to return to old bad habits by wearing bad shoes, with the only exception perhaps being the occasional ceremony (although even these situations can be successful with good dress shoes).

There are many exercise programs and types of equipment available to improve foot function, but most won’t accomplish any more than the benefits obtained by being barefoot. If your foot problems require more help than barefoot rehabilitation, consider the next most effective home therapy, soft taping.