The Dangerous Shoes Designed and Marketed to Keep us Safe from Running Harm. The Reality of Why We DON’T want Cushioning and Support in our Shoes.

“Running Shoes” with Cushioning, Arch Support, etc. Cause an Increased Chance of Falling Down and Hurting Ourselves. And when we’re not falling down; they cause Wear and Tear on the Joints and Meniscus. They also Gradually Change the Shape of Our Foot, Legs, and Entire Body Posture. This changed shape;   is a Misaligned and Weak Version of what our Skeletal and Muscular Systems are Meant To Be.

Caution: Switching to a Running Shoe Without Cushioning Must be done along with Changes to Running Techniques Including; Form, Cadence, and other Preliminary Foot Strengthening etc… Transitional Steps are Required For Running Without Cushioning To Be Safe. To be clear:   If we don’t make all of these changes at the same time, then not having cushioning would be Less Safe, because it would then cause more impact to the body.

Modern Running Shoes play a Dangerous Game of;   put Cushioning in Some Areas, and put Rigidity in Others. 

The Cushioned parts of the shoe are;   Collapsing through the course of the stride. And Collapsing around the contours of the ground and shifting conditions. The Sole of the shoe is essentially a big Panel. And this Panel is Not Collapsing Evenly, It can Tilt. And this Tilt can add to the tilt of the Ground and thereby Accentuate the Tilt of the Foot. It Can Cause this Extra Tilt of The foot quite Suddenly, because the Foam Collapses So Quickly. This yanks on the body at whatever angle it collapses in. This causes wear and tear on the joints, and can also cause the shoe to tip over which can cause ankle injuries etc., and falling down injuries.

We Don’t Want Sudden Extra Tilting of our Foot.

Cushioning also Prevents us from Feeling the Ground. If We Can’t Feel the Ground, We Can’t Properly Respond to it. The only information we have is whatever we saw before we put our foot down. But we don’t see everything on the ground, nor do we always end up putting our foot exactly where we mean to. Sometimes we don’t get any chance to look at where we put our foot because we have to look ahead to where we’re going. And sometimes the Ground Changes Because we put our foot there.  

The Conditions of the Ground Become Unpredictable. The Ground being Unpredictable means we have a Higher Chance of Responding Incorrectly to it. This can cause Strains, Extra Joint Wear, etc. and Falling Down Injuries.

The Rigid parts of the shoe are;   Supporting our Structure with Their Strength, Thereby Preventing our Muscles and Ligaments from doing the Work. This Means that some of our muscles are Not Engaged. This Means that we Can’t Respond quickly to differences between What We Expected and What is Actually Happening on this Step.

Rigidity also prevents us from getting stronger in All of our Muscles, Tendons, and Ligaments. Some are being used, while others are being supported. ‘If you don’t use it, you lose it.’ We gradually lose strength in these areas that are not being utilized. This furthers our inability to Respond Correctly to our Surroundings and to handle the force loads of running.

This also gradually Changes the Structure of our Foot. Causing Flat Foot, Tilted Ankles, and other Deformations to our Body Structure. This Can Cause Stress Fractures, Planters Faceites, and a whole lot of other problems caused by Misalignment, Misuse of our Body Mechanics, and a Further Weakening of Important Muscles, Tendons, and Ligaments. These Changes in Structure that Start at the bottom of the foot, Primarily in the Arch, can result in structural changes all the way up the body. And the more our body changes shape, the more our structure is being used out of alignment. It Creates a Feedback Loop of Joint Misalignments.

We Don’t want Collapsing and Resistance in our shoes. We Don’t want Extra Unpredictability. We Want Flexibility, We Want to Feel the Ground, To Feel What is Happening, and We Want Skin Protection.

Shoe Flexibility allows Us to Feel the Ground, And Allows Us to Use Our Own Structures to do the running. As we increase our running gradually, our Structures increase in strength gradually. They All Increase In Strength in A Unified Way. Our body becomes stronger and better at Responding Correctly to the Conditions of the Ground. Regardless of the Expectations. 

And our Body gets Better and Better at Operating with Efficient, Low Strain Body Mechanics. The Whole of Our Body, Working as a Whole. Our Body takes on the shape it needs to be, to do what we are doing. Our body becomes aligned, and works in a way that keeps it aligned. Building Strength Around Good Alignment, Rather Than Shifting Shape Around What Happens to be Strong.

It’s Important to use the Correct Running Technique And Footwear, Because Together, they Dictate our Running Form. Our Running Form quite literally Creates the Shape of the Machine that we Are. And the Shape that We Are, Dictates Whether Or Not a Particular Body Movement is Healthy and Safe for us, or Unhealthy and Unsafe for us.