Thread by @melkersvard

Modern Shoes Are Destroying Your Entire Body

I’m deeply offended by them

Here’s why
🧵🧵

Your feet are the foundation of your body

What connects you to Mother Earth

~200,000 nerve endings firing sensory information to your brain every millisecond

A complex structure of bones, muscles, ligaments that needs to be respected

Without a functioning foundation - you can’t expect anything to work properly

Here are the 4 things about modern shoes that offends me

1. Shape of toebox
2. Stiffness of sole
3. Heel to toe drop
4. Toe spring

1. Shape of toe box

First of all. Do you know what a correct big toe position even looks like? Most people don’t. Let me show you

The big toe should follow the first metatarsal head as shown above

If this looks unnatural to you, it’s because it is extremely uncommon today.

The sole on the left is @WydeFootwear and the sole on the right is a popular barefoot shoe brand. Which one allows optimal function?

When the big toe is in correct position, here’s what happens:

- Balance improves (video to show how)

- Arch works properly (video to show how)

This is why conventional toe boxes pisses me off. Most barefoot shoe brands budge on this as well unfortunately.

It pisses me off because we have put our big toes in unnatural positions for decades training our feet incorrectly.

2. Stiffness of sole

If we walk barefoot and look at how our big toe bends in slow motion, and then compare it when you put on a shoe with a stiff sole, look at the difference below: https://t.co/f4NmN78rQntwitter.com/i/web/status/1…

By not letting your toes bend as they should, you are weakening them for every step you take. Not good!

3. Heel to toe drop

Most shoes have what we call in the shoe industry call a heel to toe drop. In simple terms:

The sole is higher at the heel than at the front = You are standing downhill

So your body needs to adjust, see below

What happens when you stand downhill?

- Pressure on the front foot
- Metatarsal heads can never relax and work properly
- Collapsed transverse foot valve

4. Toe spring

As if the heel to toe drop wasn’t enough, most shoes also adds a toe spring where the toes are unnaturally pointed upwards.

Now your foot is shaped like a banana 10,000 steps a day. Good luck.

This also puts a lot of strain on the plantar fascia.

As you have learned here - most modern shoes are royally messing up your feet, and thus, your foundation.

This has effects all over the rest of your body as well in terms of posture, mobility, etc.

If you are an adult - switch your shoes to a proper one and be barefoot as much as you can.

have kids, take care of them and try to help them keep their lovely function feet in their childhood. Nice thread by my friend @Barefoot_Will_ here on this exact topic

If you’d like to learn more about why most shoes are shaped the way they are today, I highlight some historical context here