Barefoot injuries

hey i have just started going barefoot im 18 year old female from wales in the united kingdom! i started this summer! i do hav ea foot fetish, but i was wondering am i unlucky or ahve you guys hurt your feet as much as me?

1. broken glass 5 times jsut wlaking around town and everything gets everywher

2. walking up the mountain BARBED WIRE that really hurt and sliced my feet open i didint like that.

3. thumbtacks a regualr thing really as my little brother hides them around the house jsut waiting for me, he even put then under the rug so ic ant see them!

4. thorns, while wwalking up the woods dog sarts fightin i run ver to break it up aftert it all calms down i realise i ran barefoot over thorns! i really enjoyed pickin them out though lol.

how can i toften up my feet? i lov ebeing barefoot so keep em bare poeple

my names beth love you all and especially your feet!!!!

 

You can toughen up your feet by being bare as much as possible, just doing your regular things.

But you have to take a little bit of care with the cold, as I just posted in Winter Barefooting, and with all outdoors. Most of us barefooters don't get hurt down there as much as folks with sandals because we watch what we're stepping on, instinctively. Most of us don't slip on wet floors like all those wearing shoes because we look. You can form these awareness habits easily, but I imagine it's getting a little late in Wales, for this year. I don't think it gets very cold there, but you can keep on longer, and start earlier next spring, than I can.

Form new awareness type habits---and keep posting here for help if you need it.

 

were having a really mild october to be honest so im goign to continue going barefoot,mt halloween costume invoilves me goign barefoot! i jsut dont want to hurt my feet any more when barefoot lol! i just feel unlucky! am i?

 

Luck has nothing to do with it. You aren't un-lucky you're just not watching the ground like a barefooter will. Scan the areas where you plan to step and plan your placement. It's not very difficult to do but will take a little practice. It's the same as being aware of other cars on the road as you drive. Once you get the hang of it you'll be able to walk comfortably and confidently everywhere. Your feet will toughen everyday you go barefooted, it's a wonderfull feeling to be so connected with nature and at ease in most all situations. Enjoy your warm weather while it lasts !

 

i had the battery fall out of my cordless drill and it fell on my big toe causing a slight cut. I have also tripped over crap in my garage and ended up with cuts on top of my foot. Nothing has happened to the soles of my feet,,,,yet.

 

More than watching where you are going it's important not to shuffle your feet too much. You can step on glass and only rarely pick up any injuries as long as you don't slide your feet. Try it on a piece of old leather sometime: push down hard with a sharp knife and you'll barely get any damage, maybe just a little on the very surface. However, slice with the knife and even if you don't press down very hard you'll make a much deeper cut.

It won't work so well against thorns and barbed wire -although in case of the wire you say it sliced your feet open as well, if you'd stepped down straighter it would probably have been only small punctures- but the longer you go barefoot the tougher your feet will get. I hiked in the Belgian Ardennes for a weekend this summer where there were brambles *everywhere*, and only had to pick out *one* thorn on saturday evening. I guess the way you step may also affect this, you still need tough enough callouses so the thorns don't hurt bad, but the way you step could well make a difference in whether the thorn pulls out when you lift your foot, or twists off the branch and remains in your foot (where it'll also get pushed further in because you'll put weight on it again and again). This last I haven't tried though, when I wasn't quite so used to walking barefoot yet, I avoided thorns & brambles, & I don't think I want to test it out by walking with more of a shuffle just to test it!

Thumb tacks are nasty, they're big and sharp and always point straight up. I'd suggest a talk with your little brother to solve that part of your problems...

 

The worst injuries I've had to my feet have been when I was wearing shoes. I've rolled both ankles and broken toes while "fully dressed." I attribute almost all of my injuries to my not paying attention to what I was doing.

Since I've been reading these forums and some other stuff, I've become almost pathologically barefoot at the ripe old age of 40-something. If I can't be naked, at least I can be barefoot. It seems like the natural thing to do. As a tenderfoot, I've forced myself to endure the "owies" as I walked around outside on friendly turf, and slowly have built up to where I can walk around on rocks and stuff.

Here's my point: despite all of the warnings from folks, I have yet to hurt myself by being barefoot. I think this is due to the fact that I'm much more aware of my surroundings and what I'm doing now. I'm also reasonable about it. I will NOT expose myself to harsh or dirty environments like the crap that is in the streets around my office, etc. It doesn't hurt to wear flippies when you go in places, and I have not gotten ANY grief about it.

You may want to read http://www.runningbarefoot.org/ for information about better ways to walk and run, and exercises that you can do.

Good luck!

 

thanks for your replys! i have spoken to my brother but he doesnt care, the barbed wire was liek 'razor' wire so it slices easier, the glass was ona slight incline wher i was walking donw hill may be that had an exagerrated effect!

lv beth x x x x

 

"3. thumbtacks a regualr thing really as my little brother hides them around the house jsut waiting for me, he even put then under the rug so ic ant see them! "

omg, thats horrible.