As a podiatrist, many parents ask for footwear advice for their children. A common question is: what’s better, barefoot or shoes? Today, we’re going to dive headfirst into some research.
Recent research has looked at the effects of being barefoot on motor skills in children aged 6-18 years. Studies performed a number of tests assessing balance, standing long jump, and sprinting.
The research found that children who were habitually barefoot performed better in balance and standing long jump, while children who wore shoes performed better at sprinting.
Why Is This the Case?
In terms of balance, the bottom of your foot contains around 200,000 nerve endings. These nerve endings provide feedback and input to the brain to help sustain and maintain balance. When a cushioned shoe sits between those nerve endings and the ground, the amount of sensory input is reduced. This input is essential for balance, which explains why barefoot children tend to perform better during balance testing. They have essentially “trained” their balance system to maintain stability and prevent falls.
Thousands of years ago, humans didn’t always wear shoes, and the consequence of falling could mean the difference between escaping danger or being injured, our bodies evolved to respond to the ground beneath us.
Similarly, barefoot children often perform better when jumping. The foot, like any other body part, is made up of muscle. In fact, the foot has four layers of muscles, along with strong tendons around the ankle. Children who spend more time barefoot are likely to have stronger muscles, ligaments, and tendons. While shoes provide support, they don’t allow the intrinsic foot muscles or the Achilles tendon which plays a vital role in jumping to work as hard.
Interestingly, children who wore shoes performed better in sprinting. Sprinting is heavily influenced by external factors such as wind, surface, and temperature. All children were tested in environments where their physical education lessons were held. Humans were designed to run barefoot on soft surfaces, but unlike animals such as dogs, the soles of our feet aren’t heavily padded. While barefoot running may be more natural, it isn’t necessarily faster. Even elite sprinters wear shoes, albeit minimal ones.
So, What Does This Mean for Children’s Footwear?
Does this mean you should clean out your child’s wardrobe and throw away all their shoes? Not at all! When it comes to performance and development, many factors are involved. A balance of time both barefoot and in shoes can be highly beneficial.
For personalised advice, chat to our podiatrists, who can perform a full gait assessment and help determine what footwear approach will work best for your child.
