Podiatrist · Specialist in Biomechanics · Founder of VOLKAN
"The question is not what the best shoe is. The question is for whom, for what, and at what moment it can be the best tool."
"I just want you to tell me which is the best sneaker"
It is probably one of the questions I get asked the most in consultation.
Sometimes they arrive with a photograph on their phone.
Others with a list of models taken from the internet.
There are even those who tell me:
—Just tell me which one to buy.
I always understand that need.
It calms us to think that there is a simple answer.
A perfect model.
A definitive brand.
A shoe capable of solving all our problems.
But I never respond by giving a name.
First, I ask other questions.
What for do you want it?
Where are you going to use it?
How much do you walk?
Do you run?
Have you had injuries?
What are your goals?
Because without those answers, talking about the "best footwear" makes no sense.
The error is not in the shoe
Imagine a hammer.
It is a magnificent tool.
But it ceases to be useful if we use it to cut a board.
Not because the hammer is bad.
But because it was not designed for that function.
With footwear, it happens exactly the same.
There are no absolutely good or bad shoes.
There are more or less suitable tools for a specific situation.
The problem arises when we expect a single tool to solve any need.
The body is always more important than the footwear.
There is an idea that I like to repeat.
The protagonist is never the shoe.
The protagonist is the organism that uses it.
Two people can wear exactly the same model.
One will walk comfortably for hours.
The other will develop discomfort after a few days.
What has changed?
Not the footwear.
The person has changed.
Their history.
Their physical capacity.
Their experience.
Their adaptation.
The same stimulus never produces exactly the same response in all organisms.
The context completely changes the response.
Imagine the same shoe.
Now change the scenario.
An office.
A mountain path.
A long-distance race.
An eight-hour shift on your feet.
A person who has just recovered from an injury.
Another who has been training for years.
Is it still the same footwear?
Yes.
Does it serve the same function?
No.
The context completely transforms the utility of any tool.
That's why I never recommend a model.
I recommend a decision adapted to the context.
Footwear modifies the information
Many people think that a shoe only protects the foot.
It does much more than that.
It filters part of the information that comes from the ground.
It modifies the way we distribute loads.
It changes the available mobility.
It conditions some balance strategies.
It facilitates some movements.
It hinders others.
It does not completely direct biomechanics.
But it participates in it.
It is another interlocutor in that conversation that the organism maintains with the environment.
What does this have to do with barefoot?
A lot.
Barefoot is not the perfect footwear either.
And I think that saying it clearly is a sign of honesty.
A minimalist shoe can be an extraordinary tool for some people and in certain situations.
In others, it may not be the best choice, at least not immediately.
Everything depends on the state of the organism, its ability to adapt, and the goal we pursue.
Barefoot should not be presented as a religion.
It should be understood as a biomechanical tool with indications, advantages, limitations, and a context of use.
And that's precisely why I'm so interested.
Because it forces the organism to participate more actively in movement.
But even that tool needs to be used wisely.
What I see every day in consultation
There are patients who arrive convinced that they need to change their shoes.
And, on occasion, the really important change is not in the footwear.
It’s in the strength.
In the load.
In the rest.
In the fear.
In the mobility.
Or in the way they interpret the signals from their body.
Other times it happens just the opposite.
A small change in footwear completely modifies the experience of walking.
The difference lies in understanding when the shoe is the main character and when it simply accompanies a problem whose origin is elsewhere.
What you can do starting today
The next time someone claims that a certain model is "the best," ask yourself three questions.
For whom?
For what activity?
In what context?
If those questions have no answer, there probably isn’t a truly valid recommendation either.
Because the best footwear can never be separated from the person who is going to use it.
🔬 In a sentence
There is no perfect footwear. There are more or less suitable tools for a specific organism, in a given context and with a specific goal.
The most important idea
Footwear does not automatically correct biomechanics.
It does not replace the organism's ability to adapt.
It does not eliminate by itself the risk of injury.
But it is not a neutral element either.
It is a tool that modifies information, loads, and some possibilities of movement.
That’s why the real question is never which shoe is better.
The real question is what that organism needs to continue moving with the greatest possible adaptability.
A question to reflect on
Think about the footwear you use most often.
Did you choose it because it really met your needs… or because someone claimed it was "the best" without knowing your history?
In the next article…
We already know that the best footwear does not exist.
But then an inevitable question arises.
If a shoe cannot solve all problems… what does it really do when we put it on?
In the next chapter we will discover that footwear not only changes the position of the foot. It changes the information the brain receives, modifies movement strategies, and alters the conversation between the organism and the ground.
Because a shoe is never just an object.
It is an interface between our body and the world we walk on.