How Safe It Is to Walk Barefoot

Walking barefoot can be quite pleasant. That’s why we often enjoyed running around the house, on grass, or on the beach without any shoes as kids. But later, we started avoiding walking barefoot for various reasons — we might step on glass, get an infection, or damage our feet. But we still have to ask ourselves, “What if we started walking barefoot?”

5-Minute Crafts is going to tell you if it’s safe to walk barefoot at home and outside, and what the pros and cons of it are.

Walking barefoot at home

Walking barefoot at home is relatively safe. The only problem you may encounter is accidentally cutting or damaging your feet, like if you drop something on your foot, stub your toe on something, slip, or step on something. But if you’re careful, walking barefoot at home has some advantages.

Walking barefoot includes the following benefits:

• Having better control of your foot position when it strikes the ground
• Maintaining better balance, posture, and body awareness
• Maintaining an appropriate range of motion in your foot and ankle joints, as well as adequate strength and stability within your muscles and ligaments
• Feeling relief from wearing improper shoes
• Making your leg muscles stronger

Here are some disadvantages of walking barefoot:

• Even the smallest foot problems in people with diabetes can lead to unpleasant consequences.
• When walking or standing for a long time, the feet become more susceptible to health issues because there’s no proper support.

Walking barefoot outside

While walking barefoot at home is relatively safe, doing the same thing outside is totally different. There’s a huge risk of getting injured on an uneven or slippery surface, it may be too hot or too cold, or you might step on something sharp. Additionally, you run the risk of getting a fungal or bacterial infection, especially if you walk barefoot on grass, on the beach, in a public pool, or at a gym.

Running barefoot

Running barefoot is not safe either. It can lead to foot damage. The thing is, if you run barefoot, the shock absorption will be minimal, which can inevitably lead to health problems.

However, there are types of physical activity that can be done barefoot, like swimming, yoga, pilates, and some types of dancing.