Growing-up (habitually) barefoot influences the development of foot and arch morphology in children and adolescents

Abstract

The development of the human foot is crucial for motor learning in children and adolescents as it ensures the basic requirements for bipedal locomotion and stable standing. Although there is an ongoing debate of the advantages and disadvantages of early and permanent footwear use, the influence of regular barefootness on foot characteristics in different stages of child development has not been extensively evaluated. A multicenter epidemiological study was conducted to compare the foot morphology between habitually barefoot children and adolescents (N = 810) to age-, sex- and ethnicity-matched counterparts that are used to wearing shoes. While controlling for confounders, we found that habitual footwear use has significant effects on foot-related outcomes in all age groups, such as a reduction in foot arch and hallux angles. The results indicate an impact of habitual footwear use on the development of the feet of children and adolescents. Therefore, growing up barefoot or shod may play an important role for childhood foot development, implying long-term consequences for motor learning and health later in life.

Long-term adaptations of habitual barefoot locomotion on foot morphology and biomechanics during childhood and adolescence (PhD Academy Award)

“…In our cross-sectional study, children and adolescents who grew up habitually barefoot exhibited higher statistically measured foot arches, higher hallux valgus angles and reduced foot pliability,5 as well as a higher probability to use a rearfoot strike in all age groups 6. Furthermore, habitually barefoot children had wider and larger feet in the age group 6–10 years, higher dynamically measured foot arches in the age group 10–14 years and larger feet in the adolescent age group 14–18 years.…”

Force‐generating capacity of the toe flexor muscles and dynamic function of the foot arch in upright standing

“…Individuals who habitually walk barefoot have different morphological characteristics of the foot (Hollander et al. ) and running forms (Lieberman et al. ) than individuals with the habit of wearing shoes.…”

“…When barefoot, the foot muscles are used to grip the ground, whereas the sole of a shoe prevents the foot from gripping the ground. Individuals who habitually walk barefoot have different morphological characteristics of the foot (Hollander et al 2017) and running forms (Lieberman et al 2010) than individuals with the habit of wearing shoes. Further studies should examine the nature of the muscle adaptation in the foot, including the neural factors of the intrinsic muscles of the foot.…”

Early Holocene morphological variation in hunter-gatherer hands and feet

“…Third, there were some overall sex-based patterns in DJD with males exhibiting more knee and hip damage on the left and females exhibiting more severe change on the right (Smith 2008), which might suggest footedness and increased mobility in males with more shock to the feet. Both sexes (37% of individuals) exhibited significant bilateral degeneration of talar-calcaneal articular facets (Smith 2008), which might reflect high mobility and weight-bearing activities (Weiss 2012), possibly running (Franklin et al 2015;Fredericks et al 2015;Hollander et al 2017;Raichlen et al 2011).…”

“…Male burials, however, sometimes are associated with atlatls which suggests some big game hunting and might explain why males have relatively longer calcaneus bones than females (higher index values, closer to zero, are interpreted as relatively longer and lower index values, larger negative numbers, are interpreted as relatively wider). Clinical evidence of the effect on the foot due to barefoot walking and running during growth and development suggests it lengthens the foot at the expense of width and flattens the arches (Franklin et al 2015;Fredericks et al 2015;Hollander et al 2017)-this is true even when controlling for potentially confounding effects of demographic variation (Hollander et al 2017).…”