The Barefoot Running Injury Epidemic
- By Matt Fitzgerald
- Published May. 27, 2010
- Updated Feb. 19, 2013 at 8:47 AM UTC
Photo: ezioman
Business is booming at America’s running injury clinics.
Written by: Matt Fitzgerald
Darwin Fogt, PT, owner of Evolution Physical Therapy in Culver City, CA, is alarmed by a stark new trend at his facility: runners with injuries caused by barefoot (or virtually barefoot) running. Fogt says he has four or five current patients with heel injuries clearly resulting from a switch to barefoot running and has recently treated another 12 to 15 others.
“That’s up from zero a year ago,” says Fogt.
Other physical therapists and sports medicine doctors across the country are seeing the same sudden rise in barefoot running injuries.
“We’ve seen a fair amount of injuries from barefoot running already, or from just running in the Vibrams,” says Nathan Koch, PT, Director of Rehabilitation at Endurance Rehab in Phoenix, AZ. Vibrams are the barely-there “foot gloves” that have become popular among barefoot running devotees.
Steve Pribut, a Washington, DC podiatrist and one of America’s most respected running injury specialists, says he has experienced a recent influx of barefoot runners at his office as well. And, asked by email whether he could confirm a barefoot running injury trend in his clinical experience, Lewis Maharam, a.k.a “Running Doc,” replied with two words: “Oh, yeah!”
Pages: 1 2 3 4FILED UNDER: Barefoot Running / Features / Running Injuries TAGS: Barefoot Running / biomechanics / Born To Run / Christopher McDougall / overuse injuries / physical therapy clinics / Running Shoes
