“Our feet are overly complicated,” says Dr. Benno Nigg with a smile, “we’d probably be better off with some kind of simple lever structure. Instead our feet have hundreds of small muscles which likely recall the days when our ancestors spent their time climbing trees or scrambling for food.”
Benno Nigg who co-founded the Human Performance Lab in the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Kinesiology – has spent decades studying optimal human movement and designing footwear aimed at helping athletes achieve peak performance. Nigg has been involved in the design of many cutting-edge Adidas sports shoes (including the famous Predator shoe worn by David Beckham) and in recent years he has turned his attention to shoes that he feels could help everyone.
“I believe,” says Nigg, “that all those little muscles in our feet, are far more important than we thought for the health of our knees and natural human movement. In a place like Canada where it’s impossible to walk without boots or shoes these muscles – along with other neglected muscle groups in our core – become weak which I believe has an impact on our natural biomechanics, and perhaps contributes to problems with our knees and hips.”
Simply put, Nigg believes that by strengthening all those little muscles in the foot, ankle and core, people can improve their natural biomechanics and get back to a more natural way of walking. Enter the MBT shoe.
At first glance they’re not impressive – a cross between the platform boot and those weird therapeutic shoes that kid in your class used to wear – but they’re all the rage in Paris and London where fashionable women can be seen tromping les Champs Elysees in their MBTs.
The shoe was developed by Nigg with the Swiss company MBT (which stands for Masai Barefoot Technology.) The premise draws on Nigg’s idea that our ancestors kept their little foot muscles ‘in shape’ by walking barefoot across uneven ground. The MBT shoe has a ‘rocking chair’ sole, which engages the foot muscles by providing an uneven surface and provides the same stimulation as walking barefoot.
Nigg along with Post Doctoral student Scott Landry is launching a new Calgary research project with the international shoe that looks at MBT’s effectiveness in strengthening various muscle groups in the body.
They are looking for a handful of volunteers between the ages of 40 and 70 years of age who spend a lot of time on their feet, walking or standing. The participants will be given a free pair of MBT shoes (putting you on the cutting edge of European fashion!) which have a retail value of $300.
Landry says that he believes the real benefit to participants will be the natural strengthening they receive from the shoes. “From research already completed by Dr Nigg and others – and from the anecdotal rave reviews the shoes already receive from paying customers – we’re fairly confidant the product works. In this trial we’re looking to measure how they work, how effective they are and track the changes over a six week period.”
For more information about the study, contact:
Don McSwiney
Director Of Communication
Faculty of Kinesiology
University of Calgary
Phone: (403) 220-7652 or, Cell: (403) 852-7652
Email: [email protected]
