There is a strange new phenomena of people wearing these shoes that look like they stepped in half-melted marshmallow and then let it harden and replace the sole of their shoes. These ultra-padded shoes are also apparently frequently recommended by physicians. How do I know this? Because many of the individuals that come in to join the Exercise Oncology Center wear them during the intake. During the Y-balance test, their ankles violently rock left and right as they try to engage in movement while their feet are as high as if they were wearing a pair of high heels—I now make them take their shoes off to do the test if they wear Hokas. Additionally, working out with these shoes is even worse as foot stability is gone. Take split squat for instance, when the weight of an individual is supposed to be supported by the front foot, all the normal proprioception that would occur in that front foot is gone as it wobbles around in the marshmallow.
Additional reasons to throw those Hokas away and get thin-soled shoes (I like Asics and Tigers) include:
1. The height of a shoe heel is associated with a higher risk of falls, particularly in older adults
2. High and soft heels reduce stability while walking, and studies caution their usage, particularly in adults
3. Large soles and unnatural shoes can cause excess heel strike and biomechancs that distribute inappropriate forces to other joints (like your knees) while underexposing muscles (like those around the ankle and calves). When ski boots covered the ankles, ankle sprains decreased but knee injuries replaced them—forces have to be distributed somewhere.
In other words, wear low heels that provide a lot of contact of your heel with the ground—i.e. wear shoes that are close to being barefoot. Remember all those professional basketball players back in the 60’s and 70’s wearing Chuck Taylor Converse? They had no ankle support yet rarely sprained an ankle due to the thin soles.
You will notice that walking close to the ground with flexible soles may stretch the tendons that were not extended with the thick-soled shoes (i.e. what naturally happens when you walk barefoot) Make sure to get a lacrosse ball and roll out the soles of your feet daily, especially if you have a history of of plantar fasciitis, in which case you should be doing this anyway. Keep one or two under your desk to remind you (plus it feels pretty good).
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