I often get asked why I so hard on barefoot running. I am actually not. I run in minimalist shoes. I use barefoot drills with patients to help with technique issues.

What I am hard on is the claims by those who promote barefoot running when they claims there is all this evidence that supports barefoot running, when there is not (see this blog post). All the formal systematic reviews of the evidence have all reached the same conclusion. I just report on them, I do not do them. If they are all reaching the same conclusions, then you probably should take notice.

Then you get the loons I go after. There was this one promoting barefoot that posted fake photos and this one claiming that shoes impair intellectual development. If those who want to do barefoot running want to be taken seriously, it is these loon that need to be dealt with.

The latest one that the ‘hippie’ barefoot runners are latching onto is grounding or earthing. This is he made up pseudoscientific nonsense that has no basis in reality in which it is claimed for a number of reasons that we need to be in touch with the “earth” for balanced electrons etc and a whole range of other nonsensical ideas that the gullible fall for and actually believe. The whole concept breaks the basic laws of physics and every single piece of credible research on it published in credible journals have it reached the same conclusion. There is nothing to it.

I am not hard on barefoot running, just on the loons that promote easily debunked pseudoscience and woo.