You’re Probably Wearing the Wrong Shoes (Part 1)
I didn’t expect a book about running to completely change how I thought about feet. But that’s exactly what Born to Run did. At first, I picked it up thinking it would be a story about endurance athletes. Instead, it flipped everything I knew or never really considered about feet and shoes on its head.
Like most people, I never gave my feet much thought. They were just... there. You put shoes on, maybe they hurt sometimes, and that was about it. But Born to Run introduced an entirely different perspective rooted in human physiology and natural movement. It made the case that our feet are inherently strong and built to move freely. Overly structured and cushioned shoes don’t protect us. They weaken us. Many of the foot problems we accept as normal are actually caused by footwear that interferes with how our feet are designed to function.
That book cracked the door open, and I jumped in. I started digging deeper, falling into rabbit holes of YouTube videos, podcasts, and rehab programs. To be honest, it was a lot of fun and extremely eye opening. The more I learned, the more it all made sense, and the more it started to come together. I kept hearing the same message from different sources: modern footwear is wrecking our feet. And not just our feet, it’s damaging our posture, movement patterns, and long-term physical health.
The more I learned, the more I applied it to my own life. I transitioned to barefoot-style shoes, began doing specific foot exercises, and started paying attention to how my feet were moving and working throughout the day. Over the course of about two years, I watched my foot shape begin to restore naturally. My toes spread out. My arch engaged again. I developed strength and coordination in my feet that I didn’t even realize I’d lost.
As these changes unfolded, all the ideas I’d been absorbing started to click. Everything lined up and just made sense…
Of course we want shoes that fit the natural shape of our feet. Why would we want anything squeezing our toes together or cramping their natural spread? Most modern shoes do exactly that. Narrow toe boxes force the toes to scrunch up unnaturally, weakening the small stabilizing muscles and collapsing the arch over time.
Of course we want shoes thin enough so we can actually feel the ground beneath us. That feedback from the ground is what helps us balance, stabilize, and move efficiently. It even sends signals from the feet, through our nerves and spinal cord, all the way up to the brain, supporting balance, coordination, and long-term cognitive health. But most shoes hinder this ability with rigid soles and aggressive arch supports that lock the foot into place, like a cast. This restricts the foot’s ability to flex, adapt, and develop strength causing the muscles to weaken simply from lack of use.
Of course we don’t want heels that are aggressively elevated. Raised heels shift your body weight forward, shorten the Achilles tendon, and throw off your natural alignment. That misalignment doesn’t stop at your feet. It moves up through your knees, hips, and low back, often resulting in chronic pain and compensation patterns that are hard to undo.
Think about the feet of a young child. They’re wide, strong, and incredibly resilient. Kids run, jump, climb, and walk across rocks and even Legos without flinching (incredible!). Their feet naturally handle those stresses because they move freely and develop strength through play. But after years of being confined in modern shoes, those seemingly superhuman abilities start to fade. Our feet lose strength, flexibility, and coordination. In time, we come to accept pain and dysfunction as normal when it never had to be that way.
That shift in perspective, from ignoring my feet to actively rebuilding their strength not only changed how I walk but also how I think about movement, injury, and long-term health. As I began to see similar patterns in patients, the connection became clear. Weak and dysfunctional feet are often the starting point for issues that show up much higher in the body. When the foundation is unstable, everything built on top starts to compensate in ways that can lead to pain, poor posture, and decreased performance.
In Part Two I’ll walk you through what I’ve found most helpful, including how to choose shoes that support natural foot function and the simple, effective foot-strengthening tools I use in clinic and in my own routine.
