Are your toddlers shoes setting them up for injury?
Kids from the very moment they start walking should be barefoot or as close to barefoot as possible….. And that is exactly what the research says!
A study done in 1999 showed the major difference between kids walking in shoes and barefoot is that with shoes their stride length increases.
So what does this mean?
Firstly, the more young kids wear cumbersome shoes, the more they will adopt a walking and running pattern with an increased stride length.
Why is this a problem?
Because with an increased stride length comes a decreased stride rate, or in other words longer steps with a decrease in the number of steps a minute. Gait and running analysis shows this equates to more decelerating shock delivered through the lower limb joints upon striking the ground each time. This is why sports medicine professionals pinpoint an increase in stride length and a decrease in stride rate in runners as one of the most common causes of many chronic lower limb injuries.
So the number one thing you can do as a parent to help your kids develop the best possible movement patterns from a young age and not be an overstrider to reduce there risk to injury is to have them barefoot or as close to barefoot as possible.
Treddies….. as close to barefoot as it gets!