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A study published in PM&R: The Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation shows that running in modern running shoes exerts more stress on hip, knee, and ankle joints than running barefoot or even walking in high-heeled shoes. The study revealed that while running shoes protect and support the feet, they also lead to an increase in torque forces to ankles, knees and hips. The 36 to 38 percent increase to knee torque was significantly than the 20 to 26 percent torque increase from walking in high-heels.

"Considering that lower extremity joint loading is of a significantly greater magnitude during running than is experienced during walking, the current findings indeed represent substantial bio mechanical changes," said one of the study directors, D. Casey Kerrigan in a press statement, adding that the goal of new footwear design should be to reduce joint torque so it is on a par with barefoot running  while not compromising other functions.

A study in the journal Nature further expands on this issue and claims that barefoot running is far less stressful on the body than running in shoes of any sort. The reason, according to the article, is due to the way runners land on their feet with and without shoes. Runners in shoes tend to land on their heels, which transfers much more energy back to the lower legs and knees. Barefoot runners tend to land on the balls of their feet, avoiding impact stresses which can be three times the runners' body weight for runners landing on their heels in shoes.

According to the articles, barefoot runners point their toes more at landing and avoid the large collision forces by decreasing the "effective mass of the foot that comes to a sudden stop when you land, and by having a more compliant, or springy leg." Studies showed that the average runner in shoes will experience these forces 960 times in every mile they run, thus making shod runners more prone to repetitive stress injuries.

Doctors and researchers warn that barefoot running isn't something to be entered into lightly, even though it seems to be healthier. Modern people in developed nations have grown up in shoes, many times literally from the time of their birth. Because of this they've learned to run in shoes and their natural gait is to strike with the heel first. Runners wanting to lose their shoes should do so slowly in order to strengthen muscles in the calf and foot, and to learn their new gait.

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