Study: transitioning to barefoot running can lead to foot bone injuries

A study out of Utah suggests that the transition to barefoot style running footwear can be hard on your bones.

Over the course of 10 weeks, researchers monitored a group of 19 runners as they transitioned from conventional running shoes to Vibrams FiveFingers.

The researchers used the transition program that was described on Vibram’s website during the time of the study (2011). A control group of 17 runners were also included in the study who did not make the transition. All of the runners averaged between 24-48K per week and were an average age of 26-years-old. Most importantly, none of the participants reported to have had any injuries in the previous six months of running, nor did any of them previously use minimal or barefoot shoes. All of the participants ran at least 3 times a week on a consistent basis.

Researchers performed MRIs of the participants feet before and after the 10-week period. What they discovered was that the runners didn’t seem to do any damage to the soft tissue in their feet. But their bones took a beating.

The study revealed that 10 of the 19 FiveFingers users suffered a bone related injury in the form of either a stress reaction (eight of the runners) or a full blown stress fracture (in two of the runners). The fractures took place in the heel and the metatarsal.

It’s also worth pointing out that the conventional shoe group saw one injury in 17. They also averaged more kilometres per week (48K) than the Vibrams group (25K).

The researchers came to the conclusion that those wishing to transition from typical cushioned sneakers to a barefoot style shoe should take even longer than 10 weeks to do so.