Could reducing foot pain from plantar fasciitis really be as simple was barefoot walking? If you’ve been looking around the inter webs, you’ve probably seen a chart circulating social media showing that walking in bare feet reduces pain more than walking in shoes. Now, we’ve covered barefoot shoes before, and we’ve even talked about barefoot walking and exercises to improve foot strength, so we’ve explored this a bit in the past. But, I recently saw a few posts on social media highlighting a chart that shows participants in a study with plantar fasciitis shows improvement in their pain by completing a 4-week barefoot walking program.
So, in this article & video, I break down the recent article, connect it to the material we’ve covered previously, and even discuss a bit about barefoot shoes.
Can barefoot walking really reduce pain from plantar fasciitis?
Let’s start off with the basic premise: walking in bare feet has been shown recently to reduce pain in people experiencing plantar fasciitis [1]. In fact, this study compared 2 groups. The first group completed a 4-week walking program in traditional shoes. The second completed the 4-week program barefoot.
The results indicated that the barefoot walking group experienced a greater reduction in pain from plantar fasciitis. However, the other group also experienced decreased pain. As I like to say, often simply moving & exercising helps decrease pain. And, these results echo results from a study in 2018, where it was shown that barefoot weight bearing and 4 foot exercises helped to reduce pain and increase strength in people with flat foot [2].
Here’s the video where I break it down a bit:
Summary
As I’ve mentioned before in interviews and articles, barefoot walking isn’t some magic bullet. But, the benefits you receive from walking in bare feet comes down to what it does to your nervous system and the strength gains in the feet. If you’re into running, you’ll want to take some time to transition to barefoot or minimalist shoes over some time to prevent injuries. But, even just incorporating some barefoot weight bearing and walking throughout your normal routine can help reduce pain associated with plantar fasciitis. You don’t need barefoot shoes to reap those benefits, but they can help.
References
[1] Miriam Reinstein, Asaf Weisman, Youssef Masharawi. Barefoot walking is beneficial for individuals with persistent plantar heel pain: A single-blind randomized controlled trial, Annals of Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine, Volume 67, Issue 2, 2024, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rehab.2023.101786.
[2] Hutchison MK, Dorociak R, Modafferi A, et al. Can Foot Exercises and Going Barefoot Improve Function, Muscle Size, Foot Pressure During Walking and Qualitative Reports of Function in People with Flat Foot? Foot & Ankle Orthopaedics. 2018;3(3). doi:10.1177/2473011418S00257
