We’ve talked about minimalist shoes on the blog before, but a new study featuring the footwear suggests they may have a useful application as a rehabilitation tool.
The study, which was a combined effort by the Harvard Medical School and Hong Kong Polytechnic University, examined how minimalist shoes affected muscle volume in the leg and feet. The team recruited a group of 38 runners with a mean age of 35 who had been running for an average of six years for their study. Both groups were put through a six-month training program, but they didn’t all wear the same shoes. 20 members were given a pair of minimalist running shoes and a self monitoring program that guided them through the transition phases when switching from a traditional running shoe to a minimalist option, while the other 18 members completed the six-month program with their normal running shoes.
Minimalist Shoe Study Results
Researchers used an MRI to scan each person’s right leg and foot muscles at the study’s outset and at its conclusion. When comparing the results between groups, researchers uncovered:
- The minimalist running shoe group experienced significant leg and foot muscle growth compared to the traditional shoe group.
- Participants in the minimalist shoe group reported a mean extrinsic foot muscle volume increase of 7.05%, while they reported a mean intrinsic foot muscle volume increase of 8.8%.
- Participants in the traditional shoe group did not show any significant muscle volume growth.
Researchers say the muscle growth was directly influenced by the fact that minimalist shoes do not provide mechanical support to the foot arches, so the intrinsic and extrinsic foot muscles experience a greater demand to act as foot stabilizers when wearing the shoes during a run.
The team concluded by saying that because the lightweight running shoes strengthened the muscular components of the foot core system, the shoes may have an application in rehab programs that aim to develop the intrinsic and extrinsic muscles of the foot. They believe that instead of offering certain orthotic inserts to stabilize a person’s arch, minimalist shoes could be used in some rehab settings to help strengthen the muscles in the foot that support the arch to actively work towards a permanent solution in lieu of the passive insert option.