It all depends. Let me tell you my story.

I’ve been running regularly since boot camp. In that time I’ve tried all kinds of shoes and workout styles. I’ve learned what my body likes and what it doesn’t. For instance, long distance endurance workouts that last two or three hours for most of the week doesn’t work for me. I seem to get sick and suffer from upper respiratory infections when I’m on this regimen. Conversely, my body seems to thrive on short sprint interval training and in fact my endurance levels for 5 and 10K distances greatly increased after a couple of months of running tabatas and then ending the week with one long run.

And in all those years of running I would suffer through the pain of sore hips and knees. I tried various styles of running shoe. I even went to a specialty running shoe store that advertised they would special fit my feet after studying my run gait on a treadmill. After spending about $180 for the shoes and special fit, I hit the road with my new weapons.

Not bad! I thought to myself. Air Jordan 23s The days after my long runs were not nearly as painfull. My soreness and pain did not seem so unbearable and I believe it was due in part to the shoes and were custom fit for my feet and run style.

Fast forward to 2010. I continued to run with pain but I continued running with the same type of shoe for about 8 years (not the exact shoes. I would buy a new set every year.) I ran into a friend I hadn’t seen in a while. We hung out and decided to go for a run together. The next morning he arrived wearing a funny pair of running shoes that had a pocket for each toe. Weird. I asked him about the shoes and he told me he’d been running with these for about 4 months.

They were called Vibram Five Fingers and he absolutely loved them. His knee pain disappeared after a month and he enjoyed running more now than ever.

I was impressed but skeptical. He went on to suggest looking into these style of “barefoot” shoe so I did.

I went to the store that Air Jordan 14s sold these 5 finger shoes and slipped them on my feet. Ugh, no. I couldn’t get over the feeling of each individual toe having neoprene material sandwiched in between them.

But I still wanted to get out on the road with these minimalist style of shoe.

I continued to look around the internet for alternatives to the 5 fingers. On You Tube I watched a video on the New Balance Minimus running shoe. I was intrigued. I looked like a normal running shoe, it didn’t look all funky hippy weird like the 5 fingers but it had all the other features. Low heel drop, minimal cushion plus an open toe box that allowed the toes to splay our when running. Perfect! The store had them in stock too so I went ahead and picked up a pair. Do NOT start out running the same mileage as before. Alternate between your new minimalist shoes and your old pair. So that’s what I did.

After only a few weeks I started to experience a condition known as plantar fasciitis. The pain in the arch of my left foot started to hurt only when I ran in Air Jordan 2 the minimal shoes. I had followed all of the advice to what was I doing wrong I thought to myself.

Well as it turns out my arch pain did go away eventually. And yes, it was due largely to the new running shoes. The other culprit was the fact that I only ran on concrete surfaces and I thought I could continue to do so when I wore my new minimal shoes. Wrong!

When starting out with these types of shoes it’s very important to do so slowly and on the days when your running with them, start out on a soft surface at first. For me, it was the local running track. It had a rubberized surface that was perfect for my Air Jordan 17s feet. And hips. And knees.

Once my feet became used to the added stress and after I learned to land on my mid foot instead of my heel, running in these shoes became enjoyable.

Now, I love to run in them. the pain in my hips and knees is way down due in part to the fact that running in these shoes forces you to not land on your heel. The knees and hips no longer absorb most of the impact, the muscles do.

WARNING. Don’t do what I did. Start slowly. Ease into these shoes. Practice landing on your fore foot instead of your heel. And start on a soft surface. Not the road or sidewalk.

Can barefoot style shoes ruin your feet? Yes. Will they? It’s really up to you.

If you start slowly and ease into the shoe. Alternate between your old shoes and these new ones that would help to mitigate any problems you may have.

Oh, by the way. If you start to experience any kind of pain like I did, don’t keep running in the new shoe. Go back to your old ones and go see a doctor.

These types of minimal running shoe are not for everyone. If you have an existing foot, hip, knee or back problem, these shoes may make them worse! Consult your doctor before you consider purchasing these types of shoes.

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Apryl Schwarz 2 years ago from Nebraska

Great hub! I think that way too many people jump into a minimalist shoe because they look so different and it gives them something to talk/brag about. It’s so important to do research and be smart about it. It’s not just getting new shoes, it’s completely changing your running style! Voted up!