By: Martha Theirl, PT, DPT

Our feet are our contact with the ground. They hold us up, move us, and are providing feedback from the surfaces we move on. They are so important in thinking about why we have foot, ankle, knee, hip, or low back pain. They can play a role in the shoulder, jaw, and are even connected to the breath. If you’ve ever wondered what this whole barefoot shoe thing is all about, let us guide you through it.

In this Article:

Barefoot background

How to measure your foot

How to make sure the shoe fits

Brands of Shoes

How to transition

Barefoot Background:

Over the last decade we have noted an explosion in growth for barefoot and minimalist type shoes. While they are not appropriate for everyone, they can certainly make things a lot easier for people and help our feet to stay healthy over our lifetime. Please be sure to read the “How to transition” section to ensure you are successful in making this move, and always consult your Physical Therapist or practitioner with questions.

Barefoot shoes allow the toes to fully splay. Often, people think they have “wide” feet, when what they actually have is a perfectly normal wide toe box. The toe box is the front section of the foot. It is meant to be the widest part of our foot, but is often the most narrow part of the shoe in most mainstream shoes. Barefoot shoes maintain this wider toe box while keeping a more narrow shoe in the middle and back of the foot.

How to Measure your Foot:

There are two basic ways: Tracing and the wall method. Shoes are generally sized to the inside of the shoe, not the outside.

Tracing:

Start with a blank piece of paper, trace around it. Please note that it adds overall length to your foot (because the tracing is slightly away from your foot as you go), so only add 0.5- 1.0cm to your foot size.

Wall:

Place your paper against the wall on the floor, put your foot on top of it and make sure your heel is against the wall. No need for extra pressure backwards, just keep it lightly against the wall. Place a heavy book against your longest toe, then draw a line. Then, place your foot sideways to the wall and place your book against the other side of your foot to get the width. You can mark with pencil or pen and then measure that way.

How to make sure your shoe fits:

Often when you switch to barefoot type shoes, you feel like you have SO. MUCH. ROOM. at first. This is totally normal! As your feet learn to use their new space suddenly it won’t feel like too much.

You want about 2cm of space between the front of your toes and the shoe. You can easily measure this using the above tactics to make sure you’re ordering the correct size. You may want a bit more space for winter boots with thicker socks.

Your heel should not slip out of the shoe as you walk. While you may feel more space at your toes, you should feel like the middle and back of your foot fit snugly inside the shoe and don’t have too much space to wiggle around. If you do find yourself slipping out of the back of the shoe, you may need to size down, add a full foot insert (like these at feelgrounds) or that shoe or shoe brand may not be for you.

No part of your foot should overhang the insole. If you wear toe spacers then your foot and the spacers should fit inside the insole comfortably.

How to Transition:

When you’re first changing into a less cushioned shoe, expect it to take some time. If you’re used to a whole lot of cushion (think Hoka) and can’t stand being barefoot, we highly recommend you talk with your Physical Therapist before getting new shoes so we can help you choose the best transition shoe.

Often you’ll need to be doing foot and leg strengthening exercises long before or during your transition to more barefoot brands since the foot is expected to do a whole lot more than it was previously. Check out our blog on toe yoga for a beginners look at some of the things you can do!

Start with 5-30 minutes per day and see how your feet feel. They may feel tired, sore, or crampy after shoe wear. If they do, take a bit more time to transition (up to a month!) to make sure your foot is well accustomed to the new way it needs to work.

Barefoot Brands:

There are now so many options for barefoot shoes! Listed here are some of our favorites but there are always new ones being added.

Running Shoes:

Casual Shoes:

Birchbury (Men’s dress shoes!)