Comments on: Shoes: Are They Tiny Coffins? (What would Paul Brand, M.D. say?) http://www.drpribut.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/shoes-are-they-tiny-coffins-what-would-paul-brand-m-d-say/ normalizing it all Sat, 24 Oct 2009 03:57:30 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: pribut http://www.drpribut.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/shoes-are-they-tiny-coffins-what-would-paul-brand-m-d-say/comment-page-1/#comment-152 pribut Wed, 02 Sep 2009 12:53:40 +0000 http://www.drpribut.com/blog/?p=450#comment-152 Chris, Thanks for your comment and correction. I'll update and restate what I said regarding Dr. Brand's comment later today. Personally, I do all my writing barefoot, some of my walking and a bit of my running. Dr. Brand was an amazing person, I'm glad I had the opportunity to meet him a few years ago. I knew of him primarily through his work with neuropathic feet. Here, that is my thrust, that shoes can be deadly and tiny coffins for people with neuropathic problems. And far worse than most people realize. Note: Christopher McDougall is the author of "Born To Run", a book I've previously blogged about and highly recommend to all runners and all individuals who treat athletes. Chris,

Thanks for your comment and correction. I’ll update and restate what I said regarding Dr. Brand’s comment later today. Personally, I do all my writing barefoot, some of my walking and a bit of my running.

Dr. Brand was an amazing person, I’m glad I had the opportunity to meet him a few years ago. I knew of him primarily through his work with neuropathic feet.

Here, that is my thrust, that shoes can be deadly and tiny coffins for people with neuropathic problems. And far worse than most people realize.

Note: Christopher McDougall is the author of “Born To Run”, a book I’ve previously blogged about and highly recommend to all runners and all individuals who treat athletes.

]]> By: christopher mcdougall http://www.drpribut.com/blog/index.php/2009/09/shoes-are-they-tiny-coffins-what-would-paul-brand-m-d-say/comment-page-1/#comment-151 christopher mcdougall Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:43:03 +0000 http://www.drpribut.com/blog/?p=450#comment-151 Rather than re-phrasing what Dr. Brand said, I'd suggest you let him speak for himself. He really was talking about average people. When it comes to the benefits of going barefoot, he was also talking about Olympic athletes, housewives and even himself. These are his exact words: "A high proportion of the world's population walks barefoot most of the time, and the average person who walks barefoot has much healthier feet than the average person who wears shoes, says Dr. Paul W. Brand. Common foot problems in the United States include corns, bunions, hammer toes, athlete's foot and ingrown toenail - but none of these is a problem in countries in which most people go barefoot. [Note his exact words: he's comparing “the average person who walks barefoot” to “the average person who wears shoes.”] " The barefoot walker receives a continuous stream of information about the ground and about his own relationship to it, while a shod foot sleeps inside an unchanging environment. Sensations that are not used or listened to become decayed and atrophy. There is a sense of aliveness and joy which I experience walking barefoot that I never get in shoes," he says. [Note: he’s not describing a neuropathy patient, but his own firsthand experience]. In the Olympic Games, Indian and Pakistani teams have won several gold medals in field hockey while playing barefoot, and have had an impressive injury-free record. They have now turned to shoes in international competition but only in self-defense against players who wear boots with cleats and studs, Dr. Brand notes. [Note: again, he’s not describing people with degenerative problems, but some of the best-conditioned athletes on earth]. Rather than re-phrasing what Dr. Brand said, I’d suggest you let him speak for himself. He really was talking about average people. When it comes to the benefits of going barefoot, he was also talking about Olympic athletes, housewives and even himself. These are his exact words:

“A high proportion of the world’s population walks barefoot most of the time, and the average person who walks barefoot has much healthier feet than the average person who wears shoes, says Dr. Paul W. Brand. Common foot problems in the United States include corns, bunions, hammer toes, athlete’s foot and ingrown toenail – but none of these is a problem in countries in which most people go barefoot.
[Note his exact words: he's comparing “the average person who walks barefoot” to “the average person who wears shoes.”]

” The barefoot walker receives a continuous stream of information about the ground and about his own relationship to it, while a shod foot sleeps inside an unchanging environment. Sensations that are not used or listened to become decayed and atrophy. There is a sense of aliveness and joy which I experience walking barefoot that I never get in shoes,” he says.
[Note: he’s not describing a neuropathy patient, but his own firsthand experience].

In the Olympic Games, Indian and Pakistani teams have won several gold medals in field hockey while playing barefoot, and have had an impressive injury-free record. They have now turned to shoes in international competition but only in self-defense against players who wear boots with cleats and studs, Dr. Brand notes.
[Note: again, he’s not describing people with degenerative problems, but some of the best-conditioned athletes on earth].

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