PODCAST: Bc. Edita Prošková and Bc. Hana Tonarová: What to focus on when choosing your first barefoot shoes for adults

PODCAST: Bc. Edita Prošková and Bc. Hana Tonarová: What to focus on when choosing your first barefoot shoes for adults PODCAST: Bc. Edita Prošková and Bc. Hana Tonarová: What to focus on when choosing your first barefoot shoes for adults

Selecting and Maintaining Barefoot Shoes Walking, Movement and Health Podcast naBOSo

What makes barefoot shoes different from conventional footwear, and what parameters should they have? Why is it important to think about extra toe room? Physiotherapists Edita Prošková and Hana Tonarová answer your questions.

In this episode of the naBOSo mluVÍ podcast, physiotherapists Bc. Edita Prošková and Bc. Hana Tonarová meet again. Together, we’ll look at topics connected with choosing your first barefoot shoes and explain how they differ from standard off-the-shelf footwear. We’ll also clarify what functions a shoe actually has, and where that post-transition foot muscle soreness can come from when you switch to barefoot shoes.

Right at the start, we’ll focus on the basic parameters barefoot shoes should meet and how they differ from so-called compromise footwear. Edita and Hana will share tips on how to choose them for yourself and your children, why it’s important to allow for extra toe room, and why you should consider not only length but also width. A separate—perhaps slightly controversial—chapter will be the use of insoles and other compensatory aids, which don’t have to be taboo when wearing barefoot shoes.

In today’s episode, you’ll learn:

  • The basic parameters of barefoot shoes (0:22)
  • What a barefoot shoe does (and doesn’t) do, and why (5:00)
  • The difference between choosing barefoot shoes for children and for adults (7:26)
  • What extra toe room is, why it matters, and how much you should allow (8:12)
  • Why you should choose shoes based on width as well as length (10:33)
  • What to keep in mind when buying your first barefoot shoes if you don’t have any issues (14:38)
  • What to consider if you experience occasional pain (20:06)
  • What shoe selection should look like if you have an acute problem (24:34)
  • Why you don’t need to be afraid of insoles and other compensatory aids (26:19)
  • Which type of shoes is best for getting started with barefoot footwear (35:28)

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