Dr. Emily Splichal, specialist in podiatric medicine, thinks barefoot training is definitely worth it for the health of your entire body. "Our feet play an integral role maintaining balance and body alignment. This postural feedback from our feet is often attenuated by our shoe gear and may put us at risk for injury. Research has compared injury rates between shod and barefoot athletes, with an overwhelming higher rate of injury in shod athletes. This higher injury rate is associated with the thicker soles blocking proprioceptive feedback from the foot and ankle," Dr. Splichal writes in the October issue of the Rofami Inc. Health and Wellness newsletter.
Where can we as health and wellness professionals turn to learn more about our amazing feet? Dr. Splichal will be leading a two-part lecture series through Evidence Based Fitness Academy on November 6, 2010 entitled "The Functional Foot and Ankle" and "Barefoot Balance Training" at the New York Sports Club (217 Broadway, NYC, NY).
"The Functional Foot and Ankle" will help fitness professionals help their clients gain an understanding of the role the foot and ankle play in creating and modifying fitness programs to maintain competitive among their colleagues and achieve the greatest results with their clients. "Barefoot Balance Training" will focus on postural training, including balance training, strength training, and flexibility training, to help bring client's away from chronic pain and muscular imbalances by learning how to realign the body from the foot up.
Dr. Splichal knows what she is talking about: She holds a DPM from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine; a Master’s in Public Health from Brooklyn College and has recently completed her Master’s in Human Movement from A.T. Still University. She also is the founder of the Evidence Based Fitness Academy, an educational institution dedicated to providing research-based fitness education for fitness professionals specializing in Human Movement.
Evidence Based Fitness Academy will have their official website launch (designed by health professional Jessica Vergottini http://www.jvdesigns.net/) this Wednesday, October 20th. The goal of the site is to connect fitness professionals with affordable continuing education and amazing professionals in their own cities. No longer will trainers have to spend extra money on travel at an expensive continuing education conference!
To learn more about the lecture series and for a complete list of other classes coming to your area, head to http://www.evidencebasedfitnessacademy.com/ or connect with them on Facebook.
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I used to run barefoot over the past 3 months, but decided to stop and switch to wearing barefoot shoes like Vibram because it gives more protection against sharp gravel and other types of terrain. Plus, it also provides health benefits for my lower legs. In fact, I'm thinking of getting another pair of Vibram or maybe Kigo as this also mimics barefoot running
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