For what it's worth, I think MBTs are great. I first tried them a few years ago, before they were trendy and available in mainstream stores, while I was having

For what it's worth, I think MBTs are great. I first tried them a few years ago, before they were trendy and available in mainstream stores, while I was having some therapy for a recurring knee problem. My physio had suggested that the cause might be turning out more with one foot than the other, and since MBTs encourage a better walking action, they seemed like they might help. I can't say whether it was the specialist physio exercises or the MBTs that did more to help my immediate problem at the time, but I can vouch for many of the claims that MBT marketing tends to make. They do reduce that nasty impact on each step (which you probably don't notice until you have another problem, but then you really do). They did encourage me to walk with both feet aligned properly, and on the odd occasions that I've had a similar problem again over the years, switching back to MBTs for a while has rapidly cured it. You definitely feel the more active use of certain muscle groups when you first switch to them, but in my case I found that after using them for a few days, all kinds of minor irritations that might be explained by relative weakness/imbalance in those muscle groups started to clear up. They are expensive shoes, but if the pairs I've had are at all representative, the quality means they last way longer than expensive-but-not-that-expensive regular shoes anyway. I always have at least one pair in good condition now, and at the first sign of any irritation in my legs (usually if I haven't been doing much physical training for a few weeks and I'm getting out of condition) on they go. The only major downside I've found is that because of the curved sole, MBTs aren't particularly comfortable to stand around in for extended periods. These shoes are made for walking, not standing (or running/sports). For the record, I have no commercial interest related to MBTs, I'm just a very satisfied customer.