Since Christopher McDougall popularized the practice in his 2009 publication of Born to Run, more and more runners have been opting for minimalist shoes or, ditching the foam altogether, barefoot running. Followers of the barefoot movement maintain the practice both significantly reduces injury and improves running performance. But is there real, scientific proof to back these claims? According to Dr. Irene Davis, the answer is a resounding yes. Irene is one of sport’s leading experts on running biomechanics and injury as well as the most credible minimalist shoe and barefoot running advocate in the world. A professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Harvard Medical School, Irene’s research revolves primarily around the relationship between lower extremity mechanics and injury. She’s devoted the last decade to developing protocols to alter runners’ gait patterns and thereby reduce those mechanics known to cause injury - mechanics, as Irene has learned, often caused by footwear. Listen in as Irene explains how the evolution of footwear has ultimately come to defy our own. Here are some of the topics we’ll discuss today: Irene’s background and running biomechanics research How Irene became a barefoot and minimalist shoe advocate Why injury rates are so high among runners Differences in biomechanics between traditional shoes, minimalist, and barefoot How to modify running gait to reduce risk for injury and improve performance How to strengthen your feet How to transition to minimalist shoes/barefoot running if interested Minimalist shoe brands Questions Irene is asked: 4:30 What research are you involved in? 4:54 How did you get involved in biomechanics research? 5:36 Were you initially working with the general public or professional athletes? 6:22 Given your prior background, when and why did you become a barefoot running advocate? 9:12 Why do you think so many runners get injured every year? 10:44 Why do you believe supportive footwear is causing injuries? 14:03 Are these shoes encouraging heel-striking? 16:29 Is it correct to assume that strengthening your intrinsic and extrinsic muscles will correct issues? 18:46 Why do shod runners with a forefoot strike have the best loading-rates? 21:04 How should someone go about altering their stride? 24:07 What is ‘doming’? 26:35 How could a runner perform weight-bearing exercises while doming? 30:38 Can an injured runner do these exercises? 31:27 Are there significant differences in alignment between runners in shoes and barefoot runners? 32:35 How is dynamic stability affected by footwear from barefoot to minimal to standard running shoe? 38:48 What brands of minimalist shoes would you recommend? 43:07 Where do you see the future of barefoot running going? 45:06 As a barefoot runner, can you run on any surface or are some more preferred? 49:41 How can a traditional runner transition to barefoot running? 55:01 The Final Kick Round Quotes by Irene: “Based on our hypothesis, barefoot running really is the model we should be using in terms of running style because it’s closest to the way that we were adapted to run.   There is something called the “mismatch” theory of evolution that says we’re not using our bodies in the way they were adapted….and saying we’re not eating the food we were adapted to eat. But I like to extend that also to running because I think that the footwear that we have gotten ourselves into….has actually changed the way that we run so that we are not running in a way that we were designed or adapted to run.   We need to be open to new ideas, and you may need to evolve in your thinking. What the truth is today may not be the truth 10 years from now, and the truth 10 years ago may not be the truth today.   Running is in our genes: you don’t need to be taught to run. You run automatically as you develop. It’s one of the motor skills you develop as a child, and so running is something that is innate in us. You do it for survival, and so it s