Vibram FiveFingers

If you've never heard of barefoot running, this is something that could change your lifestyle forever. I'd seen runners in a nearby town wearing these wacky blue shoes that looked like something a scuba diver/snorkeler would wear before putting on the flippers. They are like gloves for your feet, designed to help keep nasty urban stuff from hurting your feet while at the same time allowing your foot the freedom to re-learn how it is supposed to function. I was skeptical, but I read a lot of reviews and opinion pieces and medical reviews, both good and bad.

First, a little about myself and why this has been such an incredible addition to my shoe closet (one that might actually cause me to toss everything out, in fact). My whole childhood was spent running and playing and I was successful in nearly all the sports I played. I was intense which meant I was injury-prone. In retrospect, I lay blame on the coaches (and partly my parents, but they were no experts) for not emphasizing and incorporating strength and agility training in addition to practices. The list of orthopedic injuries I've suffered is fairly long and includes some intense ones: dislocated knee with torn ACL, MCL, menisci; dislocated ankle, snapped fibula, torn ligaments and tendons that couldn't be repaired; torn rotator cuff; shattered hand bones; broken arm; broken ankle. I was told, at 16, by an ortho that my knee (not the one dislocated 10y later) had about as much cartilage left as a 70 year old ex-Marine. The guy put me on Vioxx for whatever reason but I never noticed much improvement and went off it. Unfortunately, with each injury exercising, much less playing sports, became increasingly difficult and the pounds started showing. The worst of all injuries, the dislocated ankle and snapped fibula, had me in a cast for 6 months and I never recovered from function after that. Ironically, this injury was on the same leg as the knee sans cartilage, so I was doubly screwed. There was some physical therapy, but due to student insurance, I didn't get nearly as much as would have been needed. The ortho surgeon told me, too, that I'd basically have to depend on the developing scar tissue to provided stability and cushioning for the joint. At first I took it in stride, but year after year, I lost more and more mobility, always being told that I'll have to deal with it or I could take X, Y, Z drug. The change in gait caused more knee pain, which caused more lower back pain. I had excruciating sciatica during my first pregnancy. The lack of mobility was killer and I hated not being able to spend time at least walking. And on the pounds came ... and the sadness (no, not depression).

Over the course of the last few years, the only relief I found was buying good shoes every 3-5mo. This gets expensive and on a slave's salary, it wasn't always happening. And worse, the relief I'd feel trying on the shoes would last at most a month. With two dogs and an active toddler, I love going into the canyons or mountains to hike, but I could never predict how long I would last. Some days it could be 30 or more minutes, others I'd be finished after just 10 minutes. Imagine it takes you 20 minutes just to get ready to go and after 10 minutes of walking, you can't go any further because of pain! I was desperate to try anything non-pharmaceutical to change this status quo.

Despite the warnings from some podiatry/ortho sites about not using the FiveFingers without first consulting a doctor, I figured that I'd had enough (again) of doctors and their quackery. I was willing to take the $100+ leap in hopes of change, even though I'd have to rework a very tight budget to allow for this. Before committing to buy, I went to a local store to try them on. This was a bizarre experience because the shoes are so weird to put on. And the first time you do it, you're sure you're doing it wrong and that all that isn't worth the reward. But, stubborn as I am, I tried on two types (KSO and TrekSport) in 3 different sizes. Since these are glove-like, getting the size right is important and I didn't want to screw it up this adventure at the outset. I walked around in the first pair, the size that would eventually be correct, and after three steps my ankle "fell", or slide into place. I stopped, because usually this hurts like hell to take another step, but I went for the next stride ... and felt absolutely fantastic. I didn't believe it, and kept walking around with store employee eyeballs following me (apparently people have sprint out of the store wearing these just to have them). I'm obviously no sprinter, so I don't think they were all that worried. I tried on another size that was too small. Then another that was comfortable, but clearly too big. I was very happy with my new ankle, but knew I'd have to sleep on it. Putting my normally-comfortable Birkenstock sandals felt odd and I felt disconnected from the ground. The next day, at my lunch break, I tried on two different sizes again in the KSO Trek (men's, because women's is too narrow). It was tough, since the 39 felt snug, but what would happen if my ankle/foot swelled? The 40 had longer toes but gave a little more room in the foot. From what I've read, the shoes can stretch a little, but not nearly like conventional shoes. I settled on the 40, took the box, and wandered around the store contemplating this $135 investment. Is this worth it, to set us back that much at a time when we need pretty much every penny we have? What happens if they don't work out? Can I really hike in the desert with these? What if my injuries get worse? What if they get better? I decided to just do it, fork out the money in the hopes of a new life reminiscent of my single digit and early teenage years. As I paid for them, I asked about the return policy and that made it easier to hand over seven $20 bills. As I walked back to the car, I called the husband and told him. I could tell he was nervous about the money spent and skeptical, but, as always, supportive. (Yeah, he's awesome like that.) I was putting on the shoes (trying to) while talking to him, so I could put these bad boys to the test immediately. I had a haircut later in the afternoon, so why not put this to the test now and return the next day if it's a total disaster? I walked around stunned at how amazing it felt to walk on concrete. I felt light, almost like I was floating, not the heavy trudging I felt like I'd been doing the last 10 years, and especially the last 5 years. I didn't want to get too excited, and just kept walking, got the haircut, chatted with everyone about the shoes and went on my merry way. Vibram instructs first time users to slowly break the shoes in by wearing them only 1-2h a day for a few weeks. Well, I'm a rule breaker and wore these the first day for about 5 hours. Yes, it felt weird to have the shoes on, to have fabric between your toes, and walk on hard surfaces feeling like you're barefoot. That night, I was pleased and looking forward to the test the next day ... at the farm where we were new co-op members. Certainly that would be terrain worthy of testing these shoes and my leg's affinity to them.

Saturday morning arrived. Bright and early, my son and I packed up for the hour and a half drive to the high desert. I wore the KSOs to drive and really liked the feeling, and there was no pain. I point that out because some times just driving a shoe will cause knee pain that won't stop for a couple of days or until I give in and take a narcotic pain killer. Being pregnant with our second kid, that's obviously not an option. We get to the farm, with it's pebbly terrain, sticks, hoses, random equipment, and cow poop. I was so nervous that I'd be in such serious pain in a few minutes that I wouldn't be able to safely drive back (yes that's happened before, too). I did have a back up pair of flip-flops (the only ones to have never caused joint pain, so definitely keepers), so that relieved some anxiety. We walked over to the cow pens. So far so good. Felt some rocks, but nothing painful. In fact, it was kind of encouraging to actually feel the ground. Thirty minutes went by, still no pain. An hour, nothing. Could it be? Could it be that after years and dozens of shoes, a simple shoe that forced the foot to be practically barefoot is the answer!? After two hours, I was so happy because the only pain I had was a little bit of friction along the big toe, which I had been prepared for after all my internet research, though I have yet to develop the blisters I've read about. I drove home, meat and milk and tired toddler in the car. This return trip would serve as another test. Sometimes, I'll be able to walk and stand for this same amount of time, but after some time resting, my ankle is so stiff, I walk like I don't have knees and it is so painful to bear weight on that leg. This sort of shit lends itself to a couch potato lifestyle. I called the husband close to his school and asked if he wanted to get lunch so I made the unscheduled stop. Out of the car my legs went, my feet landing on the asphalt ... I lean over to get out and to my surprise there's little prohibitive swelling! No way. Yes way! Again, there was some minimal friction-related pain, but nothing I couldn't deal with. I kept the shoes on to play with our son in the backyard, which is nearly as hazardous as the farm we were at! We have a roughly a 7', 45 degree slope at the back of our yard. I've never been able to scale this thing without some sort of stick or grasping at the grass and scrambling up. So I thought, "what the hell, let's see if these work." Lo and behold, I was scaling like Spiderman. That night, I couldn't shut up about how happy I was that, not only could I do all this stuff, but that as I was lying in bed, I wasn't moaning about the pain I was in or demanding an arnica oil rub down. My husband then says "I've noticed too that your attitude is much better, you're not as pissy." Hahaha, after just one day of wearing these things! I should mention here that I knew my husband for exactly one week before I dislocated my ankle, so for him to say this, really means something (and not just that I've been a total jerk the last 7 years!). Being pregnant means getting up at least a couple times at night. These can be terrible if the ankle has had some bad swelling and I have sometimes felt like just lying in bed, dealing with the embarrassing results of not getting up just to avoid the pain. I've always gotten up, but have not always been able to get back to sleep because of the pain from the swelling and weight-bearing. Saturday night was therefore another test, that was passed with flying colors: only minimal stiffness that was easily managed.

Sunday, bright and early, we went to the canyon with dogs and child in tow. Downhill terrain has been tough in the hiking shoes as my ankle never felt strong and stable. Imagine you have to walk on crutches and one of those crutches is a dead fish ... limp and useless as a crutch. That's pretty much what the ankle is like going downhill on uneven, gravely terrain. The first 50ft out of the parking lot is a steep downhill that I conquered like a pro. We walked at a good pace for 1.5mi, mostly uphill, then back another 1.5mi mostly downhill. It wasn't until we got to the flat parking lot that some bones in my foot cracked as though they repositioned and that hurt like hell. My "healthy" leg was shaking a bit by the end, but it didn't hurt. Nothing did, besides the friction on the toe. Yes there was a bit of stiffness in the ankle, but nothing too bad. We dropped the dogs off, ran a few errands, where normally I would have been on the couch with ice packs and drugs. Since the kid was needing his nap, we went home and we all napped. And what happened after the nap? Nothing, just some sore muscles but those were welcome any time if it meant that my ankle wasn't going to hold me back. Even now, sitting here writing this, 10h after the hike ended, I have tons of mobility/flexibility in the ankle, no knee pain at all. I can only hope this lasts, because this is the happiest I've been, physically, since I was about 10 years old or so. I'm looking forward to many more day hikes and trips to the mountains and hoping that our oldest dog, who is now limping from the long hike because of a hurt shoulder that has bothered her for a while now, can keep up.

In short, while I recognize the importance of medical advice, it is just that: advice. You know your body best and know what does, doesn't, most likely won't work. If you're desperate and have the money to spare, Vibram FiveFinger shoes are definitely worth a try. And no, I'm not paid by them to say that.