The following appeared in my inbox today:
Dear Mr. Meh,
It has come to our attention that in a previous entry to your online blog you made several spurious claims about shoes, the wearing of shoes, and exercise. In it you claim, without evidence of any kind, that running shoes are to blame for many of the injuries experienced by runners and other athletes today. You recklessly termed them “boots” and nakedly asserted that the modern running shoe is made for “stomping.”
This is a blatant falsehood and misleading in many ways. The modern running shoe adds additional protection that the feet would otherwise lack. Padded sole material ensure that shock waves are eliminated on hard surfaces such as asphalt and concrete. A molded insole provides necessary support to the arch and prevents the harmful rolling of the ankle that results in mobile feet. The toes are forced upwards and inwards to provide focussed directional support. The heel enables a more natural heel to toe running stride that is not possible with bare feet or in minimalist shoes.
The technology found in the modern running shoe has been developed and improved by the finest minds in coaching, injury prevention, and generalized training over decades. They can and do prevent most of the injuries that would occur in an unshod population, and we are making even more progress as time lapses. Orthotics can also be added to shoes to further prevent movement and to hold the feet as still as possible.
A solid foot is a strong foot. A supported foot is a safe foot. A bound foot is a healthy foot.
It is unnatural to allow the metatarsals, the arches, and other parts to move while running. It is this stress that leads to injury and can be prevented. Appealing to the naturalism fallacy, or any rejection of modern scientific knowledge is irresponsible and dishonest. There exist no peer reviewed scientific studies that would suggest that bare feet are capable of such movement. You are spread false and dangerous information.
The human foot is not designed to function without such support. For the first time in human history we have the ability to learn about their structure enough to correct inherent weaknesses. Finally, we can improve and perfect what nature has failed at. We seek only to prevent an ongoing epidemic of bare foot related injuries that are growing in recent years
We ask you to cease at once shoveling this muck to a credulous readership. We issue this warning in lieu of further action, to include listing your blog on our Online List of Threats on our website, and a possible boycott of your sponsors. We urge you to consult with us in future for accurate podiatric information.
We thank you for your time,
Rachel Bodum
Managing Director
Podiatric Anti-Defamation League
14 comments
Comments feed for this article
April 25, 2011 at 17:01
Jen
They say: “In it you claim, without evidence of any kind, that running shoes are to blame for many of the injuries experienced by runners and other athletes today. ”
Yet they make all sorts of wild claims without backing it up with evidence of their own? Weak.
April 26, 2011 at 09:27
cavemandiaries
Hi Jen,
are you suggesting that there is no evidence for the use of these boots for running?
April 25, 2011 at 17:16
Nate
BWHAHAHAHAAAAA!!
April 26, 2011 at 09:30
cavemandiaries
Mr. Nate,
my thoughts run along those lines, yes.
April 25, 2011 at 22:52
Janice
Thanks for the entertainment! This can’t possibly be real, is it??
April 26, 2011 at 09:29
cavemandiaries
Janice,
This letter is as real as I am. I swear it on my Fetish, and on all the Ancestors!
April 26, 2011 at 01:05
Barefoot TJ
That’s all BS, Nyal. You made that up. No podiatrist can possibly be THAT stupid. Ha! That’s so funny. -TJ
April 26, 2011 at 09:39
cavemandiaries
TJ, see my response to Janice. -Ej
April 26, 2011 at 01:50
Linus
“A solid foot is a strong foot. A supported foot is a safe foot. A bound foot is a healthy foot.”
Really? Ask many Chinese women how healthy a bound foot is. There are instances where wearing shoes would be necessary (e.g., for pure safety in situations like construction, fire fighting, medical, extreme hot/cold, etc.) but wearing shoes isn’t needed for every scenario in life.
Running barefoot, particularly on trails and other non-man made environments, should be as natural as breathing air. What I’d like to see from the Podiatric [sic] Anti-Defamation League is this: if barefoot is so bad, prove it. Show me where, other than the scenarios above, that walking/running barefoot for daily activities, fun, etc. is so detrimental that wearing shoes is needed.
April 26, 2011 at 09:32
cavemandiaries
Mr. Linus,
I could not agree with you any more than right now. You make a very good point about binding the foot. Have you noticed how much better the feet feel when there is not something pressing on it? Why is this concept so hard to understand.
I hope to see your thoughts on future entries!
April 26, 2011 at 17:08
heather
Ej,
So awesome that you would share that letter. I still want to see the so-called “evidence” that says shoes are good for you!
April 26, 2011 at 21:07
ray mcclanahan
I have been practicing podiatry for 17 years, and did not even realize there was such a group as the podiatry anti-defamation league.
Sadly, many podiatrists support her comments, which are not supported by science or research of any kind. They will also tend to get very emotional when you wish to point out the lack of peer reviewed research that backs up claims like hers. Dr. Craig Richards from Australia recently did just that, in a recently published paper in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
” Is your prescription of running shoes evidence based?”
There is zero science showing that running shoes prevent running injuries in any way. There are an exceptionally high number of runners getting injured in running shoes as I am writing this, so Ms. Bodum is clearly not residing in the real running world, or she would see that all of the claims she makes for the value of running shoes and orthotics do not actually produce less running injuries.
As a runner who treats runners I can say with absolute certainty, the only way to be a life long runner without chronic injury, is to learn how to make natural use of your feet, and NOT rely on other supportive structures(shoes/orthotics).
I am new to the group, but would be more than happy to send her a letter on behalf of the group, asking her to go back under her rock, and stop hurting runners with her unscientific emotional outbursts.
She actually threatened the group. That is unacceptable.
I have found barefoot/minimalism to be my path away from injury and into wellness and better running. I am willing to take a stand against anyone who wishes to discredit my own personal experience, with threats and unsupported belief systems.
May all of you be well, and your feet be strong!
Ray McClanahan
April 29, 2011 at 09:49
Kohhal
I genuinely don’t believe this to be real, language used is odd in places and seems to be written by a BFer trolling if you ask me…
May 4, 2011 at 21:00
Abram
No. Way. Podiatric Anti-Defamation League!? What a waste of a cause