What Makes a Minimal Shoe, Minimal?
Minimal Shoes? What They Are NOT!
The first thing that comes to mind when you think of minimal shoes or barefoot shoes is the amount of material used, its flexibility, and its basic design. Right? But not exactly! Barefoot shoes don’t have never-ending layers of cushioning to “support” the foot, nor are they simple shoes like flip flops, and they’re not ugly or old-fashioned because of their basic design. Now that we got that out of the way (phew!), let’s dive deeper into what they really are!
So, What Are Minimal Shoes?
Barefoot/Minimal shoes complement the natural movement of the foot without hindering or adding external forces, angles, or restrictions that are unnatural to the foot and its anatomy. So yes, flip flops are simple and basic but they’re actually one of the worst shoes you could wear (if only your feet could speak!). Owing to the flip-flopping motion, the toes are constantly gripping the shoe to avoid it from falling off. You might not even notice this because you’re used to it. But just because you’re used to something, doesn’t mean it’s right!
The idea here is to wear a shoe that is ultimately safe to walk around in, fashionable and stylish. You could walk barefoot everywhere - but is everywhere adequate to do so? We will talk about this some other time… but for now, back to what makes a minimal shoe.
Minimal Shoes - What to Look out for!
The following four points explain it quite well :
The sole is thin and flexible: This makes it possible for the foot to feel the ground. It enables a myriad of physiological and anatomical responses — balance, innervation, muscle strengthening and stretching, etc.
A ‘zero drop’: The sole of the shoe is flat - there is no difference in the height between the front and the back of the shoe. This helps the joints to move through a full range of motion.
An upper part (as the name implies - the upper part of the shoe) that encloses the shoe and keeps the foot inside the shoe. This reduces any toe gripping at the front.
Ample space in the toe box and a shape that allows enough room for all the toes to be splayed in a relaxed position.
