Experience with Vibram Fivefingers?

[JavaBrewer]

Specifically for running. Anyone have experience with the Vibram Fivefingers?



The other day at the local college track there were a couple sprinters out there sporting these. A buddy of mine (same age late 40's) just picked up a pair and was told to build miles slowly. I have typical aches/pains in legs from running but the worst is my lower back. I currently run 2.5 miles 2x a week. The college track has a nice rubberized coating that I can actually feel is softer than pavement. Lots of back pain the day after I run which is resolved with stretching, cycling, and some inversion table time (at the gym). Wondering if these will make it worse...or perhaps better over time...as advertised.

[911boost]

My friend is like you, and all I know is that it didn't help him out at all. His aches just moved to other places, pretty much worse than they were before.

[dhoward]

That looks ghey.
Just sayin'...

[porsche4life]

I don't buy into them either.....

Now if they would make them in a really sticky rubber for climbing.....

[Joe Ricard]

and you need special socks too???
Damn, I've been out of running for too long. They went and re-invented the shoe!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[AFC-911]

Originally Posted by porsche4life

I don't buy into them either.....

Now if they would make them in a really sticky rubber for climbing.....

A sticky Vibram Fivefingers? That just doesn't sound right! Hahaha!

[syncroid]

One of my sisters who is a marathoner uses them for training. She loves them but says there is definitely a learning curve with them.

[The Gaijin]

There is a movement away from squishy shoes for running/working out - and back to what the Good Lord gave us. That being two feet. For a long, long time people have been running, thick running shoes are a fairly new invention.

I think the whole idea is to give you a natural posture - while protecting your feet from modern hazards like glass. While running, you have less of a heal strike + pull motion, and more of a lean forward, push off the front of your feet action.. They teach classes in this stuff - I am serious!

They are very popular at my gym. Also, better for weightlifting than thick sneakers (although dedicated shoes are best) and very light for box jumps, pull ups and stuff like that. People swear by them.

[89911]

I own a pair and have yet to run in them. I really do believe that the running stride using the heel strike is wrong. That being said, I don't think at my age I want to reinvent running.

[goat]

Wife has a few pairs.
You really have to be careful when you use them muscles that have not really been used for a long time will be used. She started running in them and overdid it, she had to layoff the running for a few weeks.
Being in public with them? No problem, but some do.

[kjb]

After wearing dress shoes at work all week, it's really comfortable to slip into the vibram fivefingers on the weekends. It's like walking barefoot with some protection against glass and other things you don't want to step in or on.

I also run in them and can affirm that you want to build miles slowly. You end up using muscles in your feet and calves that do not get much exercise in regular shoes. It's not just moving from heel-strike to a mid- or forefoot strike: the lack of a tapered sole (thick at heel, thin at toes) allows the heel to drop lower mid-stride.

Running in fivefingers (and some barefoot) has given me a much better posture and made me a more efficient runner. Most of my miles are still in regular shoes, but I've moved from shoes at the supportive end of the spectrum to marathon racing flats.

/ J

[masraum]

Weird, I'd never heard of these until last night when I randomly happened upon them on the campmor.com site while looking for some new sunglasses.

Here's an interesting article about running barefoot.

Running Barefoot Blunts Foot

...A study of people who habitually run barefoot shows that these runners’ feet strike the ground in a way that tempers impact forces and smoothes the running movement, a study appearing online January 27 in Nature finds....

Although the results suggest that barefoot running might have benefits, it’s too early to say whether this running style is less likely to cause injuries, the researchers say.

says study coauthor Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University. “From an evolutionary perspective, it’s normal and, if done properly, it is very fun and comfortable. We evolved to run barefoot.”

Earlier studies have suggested that people running barefoot land on the front or middle of the foot first, before lowering the heel and transitioning body weight to the back of the foot.

“This study is unique in that they actually went and found people who have been running barefoot and are world renowned as barefoot runners,” comments biomechanist Reed Ferber of the University of Calgary in Canada. Previous studies focused on people asked to run barefoot for the first time during laboratory experiments, he says.

In additional experiments conducted at Harvard, Lieberman’s team used a scale called a force plate to precisely measure force from running. The average initial impact force in habitually barefoot U.S. runners who land on the forefoot first is approximately one-third the force in shod U.S. runners who land on the heel, the researchers found. “A rear-foot strike is like someone hitting you on the foot with a hammer with about one and a half to three times your body weight. It would hurt without a shoe,” Lieberman says. “A forefoot strike is like having no one hit you at all.”

The team found that the ankles of these barefoot U.S. runners are more flexible than those of the heel-striking shoe wearers. That flexibility may be protective against stress injuries common in running. “The stiff landing hurts,” says Lieberman.

[cantdrv55]

My sis-in-law is a marathoner. Never had foot probs until she began wearing Vibram FFs exclusively. Now she is seeing a podiatrist for plantar faciatis (sp). Could just be a coincidence though?

[DARISC]

I bought a pair of black ones last year, mainly for the novelty (they look like gorilla feet ) . You don't need socks. They take a bit of practice putting them on. It's like going barefoot. They're siped, like tires, and have great grip for sail boarding, rock climbing, etc.

[Normy]

I saw these in a shop last spring, and I was interested, but haven't bitten yet.

There is a book out there [cannot remember title or author] that talks about how modern running shoes cause a "heel strike" condition due to the built-up heel. This design was developed in order to protect the achilles tendon, but it leads to other problems.

If you watch a person run barefoot on grass you will see that we naturally revert to running on the balls of our feet, our heels barely touch down. They say that this is safer and more efficient, but I'm sure that if you started doing this, that you'd have to start slowly and cover short distances at first to avoid injury.

Foot/leg problems become a real-deal when you are past your 40th birthday, trust me. I finally found shoes that support my feet properly [Asics GEL Foundation], but about two years ago I developed plantar fascitis in both my feet and let me tell you, it wasn't a very jolly sensation! I might still try these, but if I do I think I'll try running on the beach at first.

N

[DARISC]

Originally Posted by JavaBrewer

...the worst is my lower back...

Lemme guess; especially when running downhill?

You really, REALLY owe it to yourself to try an inversion table. Costco sells the Teeter brand for $300.

Had lower back pain develop from zero to really, REALLY bad over a year and a half, saw my doc and a physical therapist once, bought the table and in less than a month I was about back to normal.

All it takes is 3 to 5 min. a day; instant relief (only temporary at first) from the very first use - and I take 6 caps of MSM & Glucosamine Sulfate (NOT Glucosamine Chondroitin, unless you've got arthritis) which aids fluid and blood flow in joints. I try to remember to use it every day.

I don't think lower back pain generally goes away on its own, especially as we age, but it can be kept under control.

[HardDrive]

I bought some a couple months ago because my back has prevented me running for years. Well my back was fine, but they aggravated an achilles injury. They put tons of pressure on your ankles. I'm going to give my tendon time to heal up and try them again. Certainly worth a try if your back is preventing you from running. Just make sure you run on the balls of your feet and take it way slow at first. Your basically relearning how to run.

[Noah930]

No FHE, but there's a similar thread over on F-chat: vibram five fingers.... your thoughts please - FerrariChat.com

[djmcmath]

I was skeptic at first, too. I had a knee injury a few years ago, and really haven't been able to run since then. A friend pointed me to the Vibrams and I decided to give it a shot. I actually ran barefoot -- no shoes at all -- for about a month, before I decided to get the "shoes." It's been fantastic. I can actually run again. I've been making a 7 minute pace for better than two miles, which is not bad for a guy who's been out of it for a couple of years. My wife thinks they look ridiculous, but I don't care -- I can run again, and it feels great.

Caution: start slowly, don't hurt yourself. Your body doesn't know how to run like this, so break into it gently. You can do a lot of damage by pushing too hard, so don't. Run, enjoy, and stop hurting.

Side note -- I've only had to deal with customer service once with Vibram, but it was great. Very friendly, very helpful.

So my endorsement is positive, all around.

Dan

[Tobra]

Originally Posted by cantdrv55

My sis-in-law is a marathoner. Never had foot probs until she began wearing Vibram FFs exclusively. Now she is seeing a podiatrist for plantar faciatis (sp). Could just be a coincidence though?

There is no coincidence.

Fore foot strike puts more strain on plantar fascia and it would not surprise me at all to see fasciitis, particularly if they just switched, or increased mileage or pace recently. I would not think you could do real high miles in the toe shoes though. Would be rough on your calves, or could be. Definitely want to work hard on flexibility if you are trying the barefoot thing.

With a more standard sort of running shoe, you can keep a lot of the stress on the bone and off the soft tissue. Bone is pretty strong stuff, and the heel to toe gait is easier to do when you are fatigued.