Article on shoes that proves relevant to Badminton and any other sport

[pw2002]

I read this article in NY magazine about shoes and how they affect our feet and I thought it would be great to share with other Badminton Central members. Link is http://nymag.com/health/features/46213/

The most interesting bits I found are:

1. More cushioning on the shoes (specifically the heels) actually ruins your feet and wrecks your knees.

2. Padding in athletic shoes causes the wearer to compensate for shock absorption and therefore impact the ground harder.

3. People who wear athletic shoes with a thicker sole are much more likely to injure themselves than people who wear thin, hard-soled shoes.

As someone who has chronic knee problems and ankle sprains from badminton, this article answered a lot of my questions as to what kind of shoes I should be looking for and what kind of cushioning I should use to alleviate my health problems. Hope this helps some other people out!

[sirjoe1]

O_O whoah this is weird @_@

[HaoFung]

Well might as well play badminton barefoot ^^

[THEbaschti]

hmm I don't think that this article is that helpful...I need good cushioning otherwise my feet will hurt, and I won't go barefoot through the cities^^
Thx for posting it though

[taneepak]

I think the article makes sense. I remember when I was very young I would wear no shoes or slippers. I even competed in sports, mainly in the 100yards and 220 yards, barefoot, against opponents with running shoes. As I grew older I began to wear shoes, canvas first and then leather, and then shoes with good cushioning. I believe wearing shoes with cushioning was my undoing. Because the cushioning could never follow the contours of my feet all the time, my feet are now biomechanically not standing evenly on a flat surface. Hence my need for customized orthotics which I must wear on a non-cushioned firm pair of shoes. Too much cushioning would destroy the function of my orthotics. To rub salt into wounds I now feel uncomfortable to walk on hard surfaces, but not on carpets, barefoot.

[jhirata]

Well might as well play badminton barefoot ^^
I've tried that before when I was suddenly called to play for my friend's team..
I had no proper court shoes, no racquets, etc.. well I could just borrow a racquet.
I played badminton barefooted and I still won 21:7 since it was a grade below my level, but after that one single set, I had tons of blisters on my feet. It's also much harder to get around the court without shoes. So I suggest all players to wear proper court shoes when playing.

[VegiSmash]

I've tried that before when I was suddenly called to play for my friend's team..
I had no proper court shoes, no racquets, etc.. well I could just borrow a racquet.
I played badminton barefooted and I still won 21:7 since it was a grade below my level, but after that one single set, I had tons of blisters on my feet. It's also much harder to get around the court without shoes. So I suggest all players to wear proper court shoes when playing.

Well one should not go from being used to cushioned shoe directly to barefoot; have to make a slower transition. Cant say if barefoot is a good idea but experimenting with something closer to it might be. Doesn't Nike make a shoe which is supposed to be as close to barefoot? I forget the model name.

BTW, in the 50's the Indian soccer team qualified for the World Cup but were not allowed to compete since they wanted to play barefeet.

[Sgbad]

Maybe someone could forward this article to yonex. Get to make a better contoured courtshoe.:)
But, i still love my shb100ltd...

[cooler]

Excess cushioning maybe bad but proper cushioning is better than none. Without going into long winded explanation, ask why today 99.9% badminton players wears cushioned shoes, and not the old style dragonfly badminton shoes or even go barefoots?? Why today's long distance runners opt for runners instead of running barefeet? Foot problem is mostly due to people buying and wearing wrong kind of shoes.

[Dream Hai]

As true as this may all be....it is just not practical....
BTW, Most of the ankle problems come from not stretching the tendons prior to playing sports...very simple to stretch your ankles and since I have been doing this my ankle sprains have all but vanished...when it does happen now it is not a serious sprain...
Also all of this flies in the face of the medical community...I have never heard anything from them about this barefoot technique...and they have no vested interest in shoe sales....anyway it was interesting reading but I will continue ruining my feet the comfortable way....:D

[pw2002]

Maybe someone could forward this article to yonex. Get to make a better contoured courtshoe.:)
But, i still love my shb100ltd...

I LOVE my SHB100 ltds too. :) I haven't had an injury since I started wearing them (FINGERS CROSSED) I just added some gel insoles for a little cushion and they're perfect.



Well one should not go from being used to cushioned shoe directly to barefoot; have to make a slower transition. Cant say if barefoot is a good idea but experimenting with something closer to it might be. Doesn't Nike make a shoe which is supposed to be as close to barefoot? I forget the model name.

Nike Free 5.0 which are supposed to be halfway to barefoot. I have a friend who can't wear regular badminton shoes and she wears these, she seems to have no problem with them.

[taneepak]

The soles of a person who walks barefoot are tough as leather. They can walk and run on tarmac and in the jungle. That was what I did when I was very young. I even played soccer for my school barefoot until they threatened to drop me from a state inter-school tournament if I did not wear soccer boots. But modern ways of living have now made my soles so thin that I can sometimes see my soles as pinky in colour, showing shades of blood flow underneath. I now cannot run barefoot on small cobblestone roads or fine coral sand beaches that I used to do without any problem. This is adaptation of one aspect of the human body to the wearing of footware that our ancestors did not have.

[jerby]

well now, while an atricle on shoes is relevant to everyone..I fail to see how this is relevant for badminton.
Running barefoot is one thing...

doing a multi-direction, stop-and-go sport like badminton on your bare feet is madness...You need cushioning, traction and support. The human body is not made to walk with shoes on, but it has definitely not evolved to play badminton ;)

And also, in respect to the article, my day-to-day mindset drifts to a "so what" perspective. While evolution by natural selection still occurs, and we still see the changes occur, wearing shoes will not be the demise of our species ;)

[ants]

Yup, shoes is there for a reason. To protect our feet and our human sole.

[phandrew]

I don't believe extra cushioning is bad for you. I see plenty of people who play with worn out shoes and get blisters. I think the shock absorbing insole will decrease the pressure on the knees and body.

[pumpkin]

This topic has always interested me but I couldn't find any reading material on the subject.

Rather than dismiss these ideas as flighty. I view them as refreshing, out of the box takes on footwear design.

They make some valid points but are rather short on research, and scientific tests. Two strong points the article makes are: 1)Shoes (as designed) deprive the body of proper biofeedback; 2)Shoes have caused the atrophy of our foot muscles.

Think about it. Today's athletic shoes (basketball shoes in particular) can trace their ancestry back to those Converse Chuck Taylor canvas hi tops. Which I assume wasn't designed based on extensive research but is an adaptation of a soldier's boots. Shoes today just use different wrappings (think leather and lots of foam) and pack in more gimmickry (air soles anyone).

The article proposes that the ideal shoes should be light and have thin and flexible soles. Today, I'm going take that great leap forward, back to the future: I'm going to buy myself a pair of Dragonfly shoes!

[pw2002]

well now, while an atricle on shoes is relevant to everyone..I fail to see how this is relevant for badminton.
Running barefoot is one thing...

doing a multi-direction, stop-and-go sport like badminton on your bare feet is madness...You need cushioning, traction and support. The human body is not made to walk with shoes on, but it has definitely not evolved to play badminton ;)

And also, in respect to the article, my day-to-day mindset drifts to a "so what" perspective. While evolution by natural selection still occurs, and we still see the changes occur, wearing shoes will not be the demise of our species ;)

I brought up the article not to suggest that running barefoot while playing badminton is the way to go, but rather as a guide for people who are still in the process of choosing proper badminton footwear and what ideal qualities the footwear should have. Also, if you read closely you'd see that those who trained barefoot actually have stronger feet and better speed than those who don't, which could be a point of interest to those who are always looking to elevate their games. ;)

Further reading on shoes and the new "barefoot" approach to footwear can be found here: http://www.american-trackandfield.com/features/nikefreereview04.html

The most interesting section to me was this:

The test that made the most sense to me was a six-month actual use test by 110 ordinary runners, neither world-class runners nor beginners, but people who exercise and run more or less regularly. One group, consisting of 30 men and 27 women, wore the Nike Free shoes for four 30-minute runs, four times per week. The control group, 30 men and 23 women, used their regular personal training shoes. Outside of the four 30- minute runs per week, both groups continued their usual workout schedules. All the participants were tested at the start of the six-month period on their abilities in a number of physical areas--including shuttle runs, lateral running, short sprints, and leg strength--and they were tested again at the end of the six months. These tests would measure such qualities as speed development, lateral coordination, and optimal speed. As you might expect, there was some slight improvement on the control group. They registered a little more speed and a little more coordination, but not enough to be statistically relevant. However, the test results from the group wearing the new "barefoot" shoes showed improvement in all the parameters measured, and the improvements in speed, lateral movement, and coordination were significant--in the 10% to 20% range.

The key words here are lateral movement and speed. Anything that improves my lateral movement and speed, I'm down for. :D

[cooler]

This topic has always interested me but I couldn't find any reading material on the subject.

Rather than dismiss these ideas as flighty. I view them as refreshing, out of the box takes on footwear design.

They make some valid points but are rather short on research, and scientific tests. Two strong points the article makes are: 1)Shoes (as designed) deprive the body of proper biofeedback; 2)Shoes have caused the atrophy of our foot muscles.

Think about it. Today's athletic shoes (basketball shoes in particular) can trace their ancestry back to those Converse Chuck Taylor canvas hi tops. Which I assume wasn't designed based on extensive research but is an adaptation of a soldier's boots. Shoes today just use different wrappings (think leather and lots of foam) and pack in more gimmickry (air soles anyone).

The article proposes that the ideal shoes should be light and have thin and flexible soles. Today, I'm going take that great leap forward, back to the future: I'm going to buy myself a pair of Dragonfly shoes!to get the full flavor of the yesterday, u should use wooden or steel racket, leather overgrip only :p

[taneepak]

to get the full flavor of the yesterday, u should use wooden or steel racket, leather overgrip only :p

This is comparing apples with oranges. It is like comparing a pianist playing the piano with his hands vs another playing with a hockey stick.:rolleyes:

[cooler]

i just finish watching this documentary on TV
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/confidential/sneaker_video.html

[cooler]

This is comparing apples with oranges. It is like comparing a pianist playing the piano with his hands vs another playing with a hockey stick.:rolleyes:
U r being silly, running is not playing piano, running is a repetitive pounding action where as playing a piano is to make music. I think u r the one talking apples and oranges.

[taneepak]

U r being silly, running is not playing piano, running is a repetitive pounding action where as playing a piano is to make music. I think u r the one talking apples and oranges.

Walking barefoot vs wearing footware is a comparison between using what you are born with vs using something that is man-made. So is playing the piano with your hands vs using a Cooler's Canadian hockey stick. Playing with an old wooden racquet vs a modern carbon graphite racquet is still playing with a man-made tool-a racquet. Why is it so difficult to see the obvious distinction?
Maybe we see things differently, which is just as well.

[ants]

To sum it up.. some are old skool and some are adventerous. No one is wrong and no one is right.

[azabaz_ipoh]

from what i read and understand, this is mainly for when we are walking or running. barefoot might be the best when we are walking or running because it only involves the rolling of the foot in one dimension. however, badminton is not a one dimension movement sport. so i say, yes to barefoot or near to barefoot (very thin soled shoes) for everyday walking to strengthen the muscles of the foot and leg but no to barefoot in certain sports that involves multidirection movements and sudden stop and go movements. cave men dont play badminton. they just walk and run all their life either to hunt or chase their women. :D

[taneepak]

from what i read and understand, this is mainly for when we are walking or running. barefoot might be the best when we are walking or running because it only involves the rolling of the foot in one dimension. however, badminton is not a one dimension movement sport. so i say, yes to barefoot or near to barefoot (very thin soled shoes) for everyday walking to strengthen the muscles of the foot and leg but no to barefoot in certain sports that involves multidirection movements and sudden stop and go movements. cave men dont play badminton. they just walk and run all their life either to hunt or chase their women. :D

When I was very young I did play badminton, soccer, and basketball barefoot. I never had any problem. I never had any injury from playing badminton barefoot. But as I got older and softer I had a few sprained ankles playing badminton with badminton shoes (Yonex), with some of the injuries sidelining me for weeks. Come to think of it I never ever had any injuries playing any game or sport barefoot. I did have a serious injury when I was running barefoot in a fringe jungle when my right sole landed on a freshly cut tree branch, which pierced and punctured my sole. Other injuries were stepping on nails and broken glass left on tarmac by irresponsible idiots.

[azabaz_ipoh]

when we were young, our body absorbed shock and heal small injuries faster. we are more flexible. we have more energy. so comparing playing badminton barefoot when we were young and playing badminton now when even small injuries (and just to the foot but frankly to any part of your ageing body) could take weeks to heal are not really painting the true picture. but that is just my opinion. :)

[taneepak]

I guess it is hard to convince today's generation about the old days of walking barefoot. Many Asians who were born in the 1930s know all about walking barefoot. Ask any Chinese from China who are in their mid sixties to seventies, almost everyone then walked barefoot. China had its famous barefoot doctors, at that time considered to be one of the most cost-efficient health care system in the world.

[azabaz_ipoh]

I was born in 1977 and yet I walked barefoot most of my childhood life. I like walking barefoot if not for the fact that walking barefoot can lead to worm infection (as told by our elders when we were young). I walk barefoot whenever I can. Walking barefoot on the beach, around the house, in my office sometimes, etc. But I think there's a time and place for it now. We couln't possibly walk barefoot on the hot tarmac road, or dirty toilet area or grounds with sharp objects littering it. I am all for barefoot at the right time and place. :D

how about wearing rubber sandals (selipar jepun = japanese slippers; i think it was named that way because the slipper was brought by the japanese during the malaya invasion). they are very very flexible, have quite thin soles, and i can surely feel the ground i walk on. :p

[sirjoe1]

Well, In New Zealand, its quite common to see people walking barefooted to uni etc, so hmm =D except for joggers, they definitely wear their sports shoes, i wouldnt dare go barefoot =/ Glass, splinters etc =.= too scared xD :p

[jhirata]

Well one should not go from being used to cushioned shoe directly to barefoot; have to make a slower transition. Cant say if barefoot is a good idea but experimenting with something closer to it might be. Doesn't Nike make a shoe which is supposed to be as close to barefoot? I forget the model name.

BTW, in the 50's the Indian soccer team qualified for the World Cup but were not allowed to compete since they wanted to play barefeet.
The problem I had to face was that I was suddenly called to play and therefore I was unprepaired for that. haha


Well, In New Zealand, its quite common to see people walking barefooted to uni etc, so hmm =D except for joggers, they definitely wear their sports shoes, i wouldnt dare go barefoot =/ Glass, splinters etc =.= too scared xD :p
Well, it also depends on the place you're in. If we're in the North Shore in Auckland, then you won't see so many people walking around barefooted. But if you're in Waitakere or even perhaps South Auckland, we'd see so many people walking barefooted..

[sirjoe1]

Well, it also depends on the place you're in. If we're in the North Shore in Auckland, then you won't see so many people walking around barefooted. But if you're in Waitakere or even perhaps South Auckland, we'd see so many people walking barefooted..[/quote]

Ah yes, thats true :D

[Scott Kam]

I read this article in NY magazine about shoes and how they affect our feet and I thought it would be great to share with other Badminton Central members. Link is http://nymag.com/health/features/46213/

The most interesting bits I found are:

1. More cushioning on the shoes (specifically the heels) actually ruins your feet and wrecks your knees.

2. Padding in athletic shoes causes the wearer to compensate for shock absorption and therefore impact the ground harder.

3. People who wear athletic shoes with a thicker sole are much more likely to injure themselves than people who wear thin, hard-soled shoes.

As someone who has chronic knee problems and ankle sprains from badminton, this article answered a lot of my questions as to what kind of shoes I should be looking for and what kind of cushioning I should use to alleviate my health problems. Hope this helps some other people out!

Indeed, too much cushioning will become unstable and extra effort is needed to balance the body.

But will soldiers march harder with Nike Air Shoes instead of military boots:confused:

Point 2 above is not convincing

[pw2002]

Indeed, too much cushioning will become unstable and extra effort is needed to balance the body.

But will soldiers march harder with Nike Air Shoes instead of military boots:confused:

Point 2 above is not convincing

As someone else stated above me and as outlined in the article, excess cushioning causes your biofeedback mechanisms not to work as effectively. Ergo, you can't gauge the impact when you have padding, you tend to hit the ground harder.

[cooler]

Walking barefoot vs wearing footware is a comparison between using what you are born with vs using something that is man-made. So is playing the piano with your hands vs using a Cooler's Canadian hockey stick. Playing with an old wooden racquet vs a modern carbon graphite racquet is still playing with a man-made tool-a racquet. Why is it so difficult to see the obvious distinction?
Maybe we see things differently, which is just as well.


As someone else stated above me and as outlined in the article, excess cushioning causes your biofeedback mechanisms not to work as effectively. Ergo, you can't gauge the impact when you have padding, you tend to hit the ground harder.
i guess 99% of the people wearing shoes in the world are wrong. :rolleyes:
U say what about the other .99%, i say they can't afford shoes.
U 2 falls in the .001% catergory who have PERFECT feet that dont need shoes but still wear shoes so they don't feel out of place with the mainstream society

[sirjoe1]

i guess 99% of the people wearing shoes in the world are wrong. :rolleyes:
U say what about the other .99%, i say they can't afford shoes.
U 2 falls in the .001% catergory who have PERFECT feet that dont need shoes but still wear shoes so they don't feel out of place with the mainstream society


Hegemony, Conformity tsk tsk tsk >_> society... sigh

[blackpigscanfly]

sometimes when i'm too lazy to change my shoes, i just take off my slippers and play barefooted..

[pw2002]

i guess 99% of the people wearing shoes in the world are wrong. :rolleyes:
U say what about the other .99%, i say they can't afford shoes.
U 2 falls in the .001% catergory who have PERFECT feet that dont need shoes but still wear shoes so they don't feel out of place with the mainstream society

Where exactly did I say that I don't need shoes or that I have perfect feet? :confused: Don't put words into my mouth by claiming that I said something that I didn't. I've already said numerous times that I enjoy playing with the SHB-100 LTDs so I really don't know how you're jumping to your erroneous conclusions.

As for training with padded shoes, I was doing my 10k run yesterday but I had to stop three quarters of the way through because I could feel a cramp starting up in my shin. I was using my old Adidas Adistar Cushions instead of my usual trainers and my knees and legs still hurt today. I'm definitely looking to get another pair of running shoes that will lessen the strain on my joints.

[hkbsah]

Left my new Asics rocket 4 at home today (it getting comfy now), barefeet is great for the first few games yeah, can move really quick, but after that lol very painful since there is no cushion to absorb shock and plenty of blisters, if you are an oldstyle asian farmer barefeet is your solution, westerners get into your shoe or you gonna miss out the next few days of badminton.