The Case for Maximalist Shoes

It was January 2022. My physical therapist examined my minimalist style running shoes after measuring my injured foot’s mobility and assessing its muscle damage.

“You’ll have to put those shoes away for awhile,” he said. “The problem is that you have torn ligaments in your foot. Your foot needs cushion right now.” I nodded obediently.

“This isn’t a case where I’m telling you that they’re bad shoes,” he emphasized. “I’m telling you that these shoes will hurt you if you wear them right now.”

He recommended a few brands of “maximalist” shoes that initially piqued little interest in me. I figured if I did my rehab exercises I could continue wearing my minimal “barefoot style” shoes. I’d show the world with my uncanny foot strength!

Physical therapy ended and I proudly continued to wear my minimalist style shoes. I figured my foot was above the assessment of the modern doctor, though I do respect my physical therapist.

And slowly, over the course of weeks, running caused my injured foot to deteriorate. With each step, the dull ache from my injury began to return. Mobility worsened. Eventually I found myself limping pretty regularly, like I did for the second half of 2021.

My physical therapist was right.

If the primary criticism of the modern cushioned running shoe is that it acts as a cast for the foot, my situation presented a strong case for needing cast.

A ligament on the bottom of my right foot was giving me particularly acute pains. That makes sense. If a muscle is torn on the bottom of your foot, it hits the ground with your body weight thousands of times each day. That probably isn’t going to feel very good for long.

So at the start of April I went to a running store and bought two pairs of cushioned running shoes. Heck, I figured, my foot was on the verge of no longer being able to run. Some cushioned shoes wouldn’t make the matter worse. Besides, it would only be temporary.

I bought a pair of Hoka Cliftons and a pair of Altra Torins because I preferred the relatively little heel raise of the shoes and the wider toe boxes. The Altra Torins are actually “zero drop,” which means they do not have an elevated heel at all.

Walking and running in cushioned shoes was an odd sensation after spending the previous few years with almost no foot support. It felt like I was constantly walking over a plush bed. I didn’t necessarily like that. We have thousands of nerve endings in our feet and I believe those nerve endings seek sensation in the earth.

And yet, within two weeks my injured foot’s various pains went away. I was running comfortably, and that was frankly a surprise. A week after that and I forgot the foot was ever injured. A week after that and I was running farther distances than I ever had in my life.

I rotate the Altras and Hokas by running session in order to prolong them. I’m still running in them (I’m supposed to until at least the fall). Maybe I’ll continue after that to an extent and just rotate in the minimalist shoes. Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.

Though I think there is health risk in becoming dependent on cushion (a limb trapped within a cast for years will inevitably weaken), maybe my situation was one of the few in which “maximalist” shoes served a good purpose.

I can’t argue with good health after all.