Nsima Inyang, self-described "Curator of Unorthodox Forms of Fitness" and a genuinely enormous human, put out a YouTube video called "The $400 BILLION Dollar Scam DESTROYING Your Feet". It's the best explanation I have seen of "Big Shoe" and what an individual can actually do about the damage it has done to their body. Watch the whole thing. I have watched it three times.
Here is what I loved about it, plus a couple of points I think Nsima missed.
Nsima used to play soccer. He talks about how narrow his cleats were and shows the aftermath: surgery from a cleat that damaged his own foot.
Bunionette surgery from a cleat that never matched his foot's actual shape.
He had a shot at going pro, playing college soccer, and a bunionette surgery cut that short. Look at the shoes next to the actual shape of a foot:
In his words: "foot coffins." I could not agree more. The surgery was not the only cost either. For years afterward he could not run without knee and back pain, because feet are the first line of defense for absorbing and dispersing the forces of landing. Once he started training his feet directly, the pain elsewhere in his body started to fade, and he has been experimenting with foot exercises and practices ever since.
What Nsima recommends
Hand-Foot-Glove Exercise, gloving your feet by putting your fingers between your toes daily to build toe flexibility and strength.
Toe Socks, which passively stretch and align your toes.
Toe Spacers, which recover foot strength by aligning the toes directly.
Texture Mats, which bring blood flow, awareness and strength back to your feet.
Short Foot Exercise, almost like balling your foot into a fist, repeatedly contracting the arch muscles to strengthen them.
What about orthotics?
The obvious question is orthotics, or custom insoles. According to Dr. Andy Bryant, a natural podiatrist with 25-plus years of experience, only about .001% of the population actually needs them. Dr. Aaron Horschig, founder of Squat University, goes further: within 12 weeks of use, orthotics cause atrophy in the muscles of the feet.
Healthy shoes
So what makes a healthy shoe? Foot shaped, flexible, and flat. If you have spent years in shoes from the major brands, be careful on the way in: transitioning to healthy shoes will not feel great at first, since your feet have been limited for a long time and the adaptation takes time. In Nsima's words, "you may need to micro-dose their use at first."
Modern footwear, or foot-binding by another name, has wrecked millions of feet. It is time for shoes shaped like actual feet to take over, and that is exactly what Prevolve's custom fit, 3D printed, minimalist cleats are built to do: harmonize with your feet while gradually building back the strength and mobility they should have had all along.