ANTA Member Article Summer 2023
Shaun Brewster
ANTA National President BHSc (Musculoskeletal Therapy) Graduate Diploma (Exercise Science)
The Barefoot Movement - A Goldilocks Story If you are someone who has committed themselves to understanding the body and finding ways to help optimise it, then you would no doubt have stumbled upon the barefoot movement at some point in your career. The idea of freeing the feet and allowing them to develop the strength and functionality that they were designed to have, would sound like a logical and even credible concept. There are experts and proponents of barefoot activity all over the world, each one giving their version of how and why spending more time barefoot is going to be the solution to any number of functional problems or ailments. For about a decade I was one of those people and often referred to as “the barefoot guy”. As part of my Exercise Science post graduate training, I conducted a major literature review of the research on the topic, through this and through my own experimentation and application through ultra-distance running, I found myself in the position of being the person others came to for advice or guidance on the topic.
I wrote countless articles on barefoot running for running magazines and blogs, I was a brand ambassador for a barefoot shoe company, I was interviewed on podcasts, I even wrote a short book and filmed instructional videos on how to transition from traditional to barefoot style shoes. During this time I watched as so many people fell into this movement, but ended up injured and ultimately went back to wearing whatever they had been wearing all along. So how can something that appears to make sense with regard to biomechanics, neuromuscular function, and that is supported by the research be the cause for countless injuries? Goldilocks will likely have the answer… In 2009 a book titled Born to Run was published, written by an American author by the name of Christopher McDougall.
THE NATURAL THERAPIST VOL 38 NO. 2 | SUMMER 2023 | PAGE 43
