Misuse Injuries

This is a great posting to the Running Barefoot Yahoo! group, by our mentor, Ken Bob Saxton:

I like to believe that "overuse" injuries are actually the same thing as "too much, too soon". In other words we are doing more with our body than it is ready for.

However, there is another important factor, which is "misuse" injury.

Being hit by a car traveling 60mph is also a "misuse" injury. We are getting hit with more force than we are designed to withstand!

Likewise, "Jogging" is a misuse of our body.

The common injuries to modern runners, like runner's knee, etc., are commonly mistaken as "overuse" injuries. These types of injuries occur in many runners who "pound" the pavement. "Jogging" and jarring thier joints for miles and miles, because they have always heard that they need to train long and hard. But they have never heard about "HOW" to run.

Misuse injuries are, in a strict sense, also "overuse" injuries. People pounding way harder, and much more frequently than their knees are ready to pound. In fact, in this case, since we aren't using the body according to the manufacturers specifications, it never gets an adequate chance to repair the damage, before we go out and pound out some more miles.

So, much like being hit by a car traveling 60mph, "jogging" or pounding the pavement, is simply something our bodies were never designed for.

What do I mean, we aren't using the human body according to manufacturerers specifications? We are designed to run?

Yes, I believe we are designed to run. However, we were never designed to run without one of the most valuable safety features available. This safety feature was installed, at the time of manufacture, not as an option, but as a necessity. It is the feedback from our feet, as they touch the ground.

We have covered this wonderful sensory organ with shoes, blinding it to the wonderful feelings of touching the earth, just so we can run on surfaces, with such insensitive pounding, that we blow out every conceivable joint in our body. And when the joints start hurting, we take pain-killers, so we can continue pounding, and reduce our joints to bare bones, grinding against each other!

In our automobile, this might be seen as the equivelent of putting a piece of black tape over the "oil low" indicator light or pressure gage, so we aren't annoyed by it's persistent warnings!

Keep in mind, that virtually all of those studies about "normal" wear and tear as a result of aging, are based on "normal" people in modern society, who are so out of touch with their own bodies, that, if they wanted to restore a channel of communication, they wouldn't even know the phone number to call to talk, and listen, to their own body!

The "secret" to preventing this "normal" wear and tear due to aging, isn't LESS RUNNING, it is MORE AWARENESS, so that we can run more, to continue building strength and endurance, with LESS POUNDING!

Have fun,
-barefoot ken bob

Irony

No, you are not seeing double. ... I love it when the banner ad served is from New Balance, a SHOE company, using a campaign that depicts a BARE foot with the New Balance logo on it. I guess they are implying that if you buy New Balance shoes, your foot will feel free and natural. While it is true that New Balance makes some very minimal racing flats and spikes, most people using them are wearing their cushion and stability shoes, which are fairly substantial. The "regular runners" flocking to New Balance usually do it to correct injuries and biomechanical woes. It is a lot less expensive to just remove whatever you are presently wearing!

Yesterday's Run

The first half mile: Barefoot on the road to Greenbrook Park. No problem. Feels great for my feet. Rain is on its way. Very little drizzle.

The park, miles 1.5-3: Barefoot on the still-hard grass and dirt. Some of the dirt is so dry it is cracked like a dry lake-bed. The grass is a mess. There are pine cones, acorns, tons of sticks. If the ground was soft or the grass more lush, they would sink in when stepped on. But it is still very dry in NJ, so the sinking-in isn't happening. Raining just a little, but it isn't helping. We need a lot of moisture to make things softer. I even switch to the road in the park for a quarter mile or so. The road feels better for my feet than all the natural tree litter on the grass.

The road, miles 3-4.5: Barefoot on the rest of the loop on West End Avenue, Greenbrook Road, and back home. Lots of random pebbles on the road. Lots of bad pavement. Infrastructure improvements are so needed in this town. How about a run by with a street sweeper? That would be nice. Still only very light rain. Shucks.

My old Reebok XC Spikes, miles 4.5-7.5: Put on my old spikes for the rest of this workout. They are ripped out at the bottom of the upper on the outside of my feet. I have chucked the insoles. The 1/2 inch spikes are worn down to 1/4 inches. One of the spike holes is permanently misaligned, so the spike is at a 45 degree angle. Running on people's lawns back to the park. The park's debris don't bother my feet now. Running faster. Gotta get this done in time to go pick up my kid at religious school. Somebody left a soccer ball under a bush. Nobody around, so I practice kicking it home. It still isn't raining hard enough. Maybe tonight. Maybe soft grass and dirt so the stuff will sink in when I step on it tomorrow. Hope so.

No Rain in New Jersey Hurts

On Tuesday I wanted to run nice and barefoot at Greenbrook Park. I ran right out of my front door and down the street, doing the very comfortable road half mile to the park. (Note that during the first half of last year I had to run that same half mile with shoes on, then I took them off at the park. Then I progressed to just starting the run barefoot, but had to run on the grass next to the street as much as possible for it to be comfortable.) I got to the park and hit the grass. And it hurt. The dirt under the grass is hard and uneven. It was much more comfortable to run on the road. After putting up with the pain for a few minutes, I turned around and ran home for some XC shoes.

Yesterday I tried again. The ground is even harder, if that is possible. But I was prepared. I carried my XC shoes while I ran on the street, then put them on for hte bulk of the workout in the park.

It is supposed to rain tonight and tomorrow. New Jersey really needs rain. I need it to soften up the ground. My coworker told me that we had zero inches of rain in March in NJ. I looked it up at the National Weather Service. Here is the current map -

Map thanks to National Weather Service

As you can see, we are down 3 inches from the normal in Somerset and Middlesex counties. That is a lot. I am looking forward for a great day of rainy weather on Saturday. Let it rain and make lots of soft mud of the hard cracked earth!

Warmth Returns and The Cop Doesn't Like It

Warm 70 degree day today. Last Thursday I did 4.5 miles barefoot. Skied the weekend - glorious warm sunny blue sky day on spring snow. Today I did 5.5 barefoot. When I picked my son up from indoor soccer practice at the high school, the cop on duty at the door stopped me, asking, "Where are your shoes?" I told them they were in my car. He asked me to go get them becuase, "You're really not supposed to be walking around the building without shoes." He thanked me when I safely wearing flip-flops.

I'll get you my pretty! ...... and your little dog too!

I'll get you my pretty! ...... and your little dog too!: "

What spirit is so empty and blind, that it cannot recognize the fact that the foot is more noble than the shoe, and skin more beautiful than the garment with which it is clothed? -Michelangelo"