Barefoot runners tend to keep quiet about their injuries around shod runners, because somehow every challenge is blamed on not wearing shoes. Never mind that shoes are strongly implicated in everything from blisters to knee pain, if a barefoot runner mentions any problems, people in shoes feel justified in an “I told you so” response.
More likely than not, the injuries blamed on lack of shoes are because feet and legs have been weakened by shoes for years. But sometimes injuries just happen, because that is the world we live in. It has been my experience that running barefoot often allows me to run in spite of injuries, both for continued enjoyment and to keep me strong while I heal.
Take my knee, for instance. I did some major damage to my left meniscus while gardening (in shoes) several years ago. I ended up getting it surgically trimmed, but was told I would have ongoing issues with that knee. Running barefoot has changed my running form to a softer impact, which is much easier on the knee.
Continued barefoot running gives every evidence of strengthening my legs in very balanced ways, ways that support knee function by engaging all the muscles surrounding it. This is because I am using my whole foot and not just landing flat and hard.
Even when I tweaked my knee uncomfortably in the garden a month ago, I only needed a couple days rest before I could run with absolutely no discomfort and no post-run side effects.
The fact is, gardening has caused me more trouble than running, because I tend to twist and push in ways that strain my legs. Pushing digging tools into the dirt, pulling loaded wagons, or constant squats are a few examples of the motions that I engage in regularly, and sometimes too much. Barefoot gardening helps keep these motions in the realm of balance. Barefoot running helps work out the kinks.
Some injuries are idiopathic. I apologize, but I have loved that word every since nursing school! All it means is that there is no apparent or obvious reason for the disease or injury. Like the strange twinge I got in the middle of one ankle the other day. Right in the middle of my ankle, and all of a sudden during the middle of a medium long run. It was a distance I had worked up to and stayed at for a few months. Nothing new. It was a path I run on all the time. I didn’t trip or step on anything. It just twinged and I couldn’t finish the run that day.
I spent a couple days not running, but stayed on my feet otherwise with minimal sensation. I also took my warm baths and put my ankle through regular range of motion. I could feel whatever it was relax over the weekend. The next week, I tested with a 6 mile run. I could run without any problem.
Having run a significant amount before in shoes, I think it is unlikely I would have been able to run lightly enough in shoes to do this, but the natural shock moderation from a now well developed barefoot running form meant very little impact to my ankle.
I expect there will be other injuries in my future. I will step on sharp objects or push myself too hard during a specific training period. But barefoot running will still be very fun and the best way for me to both avoid worse joint issues and manage the injuries I incur.