Minimalist Running: UVA Study Looks at How Muscles Change in Barefoot Shoes

(I-Canada-News.Com, May 18, 2013 ) Vancouver, Canada -- A new kind of study is being performed at the University of Virginia looking closely at how minimalist running shoes affect the way the muscle in the body change when worn.

What is Minimalist Running?

In the wake of the minimalist running movement, an exploding new trend in which runners wear no shoes or shoes considered “minimal”, researchers are looking to see if muscles are negatively or positively affected by the absence of well supportive shoes.

So-called “barefoot shoes” offer the closest feel to running truly barefoot. Soles provide the bare minimum in protection from potential hazards on the ground. Most shoes of this type have openings for toes, much like toe socks or gloves for the feet.

"Minimalist running is a pretty exciting field for a lot of people. It's very popular, there have been books written about it," said Geoffrey Handsfield, a UVA PhD student who is leading the study.

MRIs track muscle change

To begin with, Handsfield and his team of researchers are tracking the static and dynamic Magnetic Resonance Images (MRIs) of the muscles of 8 minimalist runners. By using the MRI machine, they will be able to look inside the body to track how the muscles are changing as the recreational runners continue their training.

Several shoe-store owners do not support the minimalist running movement, let alone the barefoot shoe brands, simply because there is no shoe that is a direct one-size fits all. The problem with the movement is that it doesn’t work for everyone’s body type.

The researchers at UVA hope to show the benefits of these shoes and that they do in fact have a purpose for everyone.

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Source: EmailWire.Com