Today's Straits Times Article 180514

Have a look at page 17 of today's Sunday Times under the Home section and you'll see Sports Solutions quoted in the article. The journalist asked about our views on the Vibram Five Fingers lawsuit, the health benefits and also the general vibe of the running community regarding this case.

I was quoted as saying the evidence for barefoot or minimalist style is actually very sound provided the wearer's running technique is correct.

Using results of Daniel Liberman's study, runners who land correctly in their running technique will have benefits as impact is a lot less (even less than landing on your heels with  shoes on).  If you land wrongly (with minimalist shoes) the impact is 7 times greater thus greatly increasing the chance of injury. See picture below.

From Liberman's article

Unfortunately most of us (runners) are very impatient for results and do not master the correct running/ landing technique while just using minimalist shoes thinking that will be sufficient.

 

Also read why if you run in more cushioned/ expensive shoes, the more likely you seem to get injured to further support why running in minimalist shoes with correct technique is superior to running with cushioned/ expensive shoes. 

Reference 

Liberman DE, Venkadesan M et al (2010). Foot Strike Patterns and Collision Forces in Habitually Barefoot Versus Shod Runners. Nature. Jan 463(7280): 531-535.

Email me if you want the article.

My own minimalist running shoe in the picture below. My brother bought it for me from Shanghai for $RMB30 (or S$6) , much cheaper than Vibrams ($149-$209 here in Singapore).

Like I've always said and written, it's not what shoes you wear, its your technique that's more important.