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It's a tautology to say that people who could run before running shoes were invented didn't need running shoes, it ignores the possible runners that dropped out
by glymor 17y ago
It's a tautology to say that people who could run before running shoes were invented didn't need running shoes, it ignores the possible runners that dropped out.
Running is a mechanical process. If there is something wrong with your feet, say your arches are too low or too high, or if one of yours legs is longer than the other, you will have problems with your gait that will likely increase your chance of injury. I don't see how history plays into it.
- gregwebs 17y agoThe point is people didn't need to "drop out" because they weren't getting hurt. History gives us knowledge we can apply to even mechanical concepts. We don't need to reinvent the steam engine, we can just look it up in a text book. Likewise, we don't need to try to reinvent running or the human foot when our inventions are not as good as the original.
- glymor 17y agoThe point is people didn't need to "drop out" because they weren't getting hurt. You have no evidence for this statement. The Lore of Running is a good reference if you're a runner I suggest getting it. One of the things the author deals with was the introduction of running shoes to the existing athletes at the time. It did make much difference and for some it caused problems. But there are now athletes who couldn't compete without them. As an example how would you deal with flat-feet historically? Looking at how armies have handled it just excludes you from fighting.
- gregwebs 17y agoHistorically people rarely had flat feet until they wore shoes their whole lives. This would lead one to conclude that flat feet are strongly caused by wearing shoes. This is reinforced by the fact that flat feet can often be cured by stretching and strengthening the muscles of the feet. You can see now that these ideas are making their way into the scientific literature, although they aren't actually doing the needed studies yet. http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/121-1272/3024/ http://www.nzma.org.nz/journal/121-1272/3024/ You are right that scientific peer reviewed research on barefoot native cultures (and barefoot running in general) is hard to find. But when you recognize that it is scientifically proven that shoes decrease cushioning and increase joint stress, you start to think we haven't progressed much from them. http://www.mskreport.com/articles.cfm?articleID=2980 http://www.mskreport.com/articles.cfm?articleID=2980