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Masai Barefoot Technology.

Came across these amazing shoes with rocking soles, if you have experience of them i would love to hear. MBT claim to transform the way we walk by building in instability, causing users to exercise many of the small stabilizing muscles they dont ordinarily use. Conventional flat shoes support and lead the foot in an unnatural way, leading to joint and back pain, whereas wearing MTB,s is like walking barefoot on sand-a very comfortable feeling, but also challenging, every step is a small workout. After only two days my calf muscles are stronger and my posture is improving already, even just standing still i can feel the difference, my abdominal and buttock muscles feel clenched, when walking my knees and hip joints are more comfortable, normally they are not. Just felt i had to share this small discovery of mine with you. Check it out at www.swissmasai.co.uk

Comments

  • ZoeZoe Raw Newbie

    I was wondering if they worked. I’ve got terrible posture I saw them and got excited, then I saw the price! But I thnk I’ll save up, sounds like just what I need. Thanks for the tip.

  • Hi Zoe, i feel so much better for the MBT’s, my legs are getting stronger, I’m going for daily walks, my left foot had a painfull fallen arch which has improved enormously, considering the short time i have had them.

  • southernloversouthernlover Raw Newbie

    Those look crazy…I want some! But, I’m in the U.S… ?

  • germin8germin8 Raw Master

    They remind me of the board-on-a-ball balancing ‘thing’ that my husband would stand on for several minutes… and that toned muscles, especially on his back. He did that at the chiropractic office… we don’t have one. It worked great… and was fun trying to balance! Sounds very similar! I’d try it… if I had them.

  • Hi gemini8 and southernlover, these swiss masai shoes are available worldwide, if you check out the website above it points you in the right direction. Yes, the wobble board, its the same principle, instability, all over skeletal and muscular workout. It takes two week to get the hang of them, i took them off today and tried my old shoes for the first time in a week, boy, what a difference, can’t wait to see the results of another week.

  • MeditatingMeditating Raw Newbie

    WOW. $250.00. The margin in that shoe is way above production costs. For that price, I would want a company representative to come to my home and provide a custom fitting and pedicure.

  • Hi Meditating. The retailers are specialy trained, they won’t sell you a pair untill they’re satisfied they fit, and you know how to use them. My disability forces me to wear orthotics in my usual shoes, my fitter assured me i would’nt need them, i was sceptical, but she was right. What price do you put on comfort?

  • I bought some MBTs about 2-3 weeks ago (the new mary jane style) and I wear them to work everyday and also wear them when I walk my doggie. They’re awesome! So comfortable. I also wear tradional shoes too as I don’t really like the way the MBTs look with most of my casual clothes but the regular shoes are very uncomfortable. Best shoes ever! Well worth the money. Not to mention that if you wear them a ton after a couple of years or so, you can send them back to the company (for about 50 bucks) and get them re-soled! How awesmoe is that? You’ll be able to have the same pair of shoes for a very long time! At some point I’m going to buy another pair and start running in them. I’m a runner already and I think I would do my joints a world of good by switching over.

  • clr-1976clr-1976 Raw Newbie

    I love my MBT’s!

    Zoe – I get mine from http://www.backinaction.co.uk/ if you have a bad back/hip/anything you can get them VAT free there, which is alot on the price of MBT’s. They are great and give you a proper fitting, which they have to as a registered stockist. I got mine VAT free, all they ask you to do is fill out an exempt form which means the inland revenue can contact you if they want to verify it. I’ve had physio through NHS so I went for that but havent heard anything anyway. They say they dont tend to question them anyway as they are the kind of shop that stocks things for people with back probs. They are the comfiest things in the world and I got much less lower back ache with them. I commute so wear them everyday. I have to watch out for the rocking if wearing them on one of the tube escalators though, feel like I’ll wobble off it and knock everyone down like dominos! :-) Enjoy – hope that helps!

    C x

  • WinonaWinona Raw Newbie

    I recommend Keen shoes for anyone looking for a ridiculously comfy pair of shoes. Certain types of keens have more support (all the hiking shoes are well supported) but the dress shoes are very cute and comfy… some have a tad less support, but you can tell just by looking at them what will be comfy. They’re $60 to $115.

  • newbienewbie Raw Newbie

    fyi – www.zappos.com has both MBTs and Keen shoes

  • MeditatingMeditating Raw Newbie

    BADNEWS - Thanks so much for your original post. I had a serious back injury some years ago that left me unable to work at all for 7 years and then slowly I recovered. For the most part, I appear to function without incident although I must provide myself with many accommodations in order to get through each day and avoid chronic back pain. Being free from chronic pain is like life starting anew.

    Anyway, after revisiting this past I decided to call and see if anyone had these shoes in my town. I could find one store and I called them. They were going out of business and everything was reduced. I decided to drop by that afternoon and checked out the MBTs. Unfortunately, I found the staff (a Birkenstock store) without knowledge of the product and basically not helpful. I tried the shoes on and could tell they felt different. They were regularly $250 but on sale for $125 so I decided to splurge and purchase them. Within 3 days of wearing them I could tell a considerable difference in the development of unused muscles in my upper thighs and buttocks.

    When you have a back injury, pushing yourself physically, even something like using your arms to push open a storefront door instead of your feet, can lead to debilitating pain so I tend to not push myself physically out of fear I could end up in the bed for weeks and requiring steroid injections again. However, the technology employed in these shoes is simple yet remarkable and it is slowly retraining my body. Since the front and back sole of the shoe is raised off the ground, you must stand in a way that your center of gravity is straight up through your core or you will topple forward or backwards depending on how you stand. You must also center yourself when you bend down or reach up and this requires the use of the larger muscles (upper thighs, buttocks). Again, the secret is if you aren’t properly centered you begin to tip over.

    I highly recommend these shoes to anyone with a back injury or anyone wanting to improve their posture. I wish there was something like a dress shoe that came in this technology because on the days I have court I can’t wear them and I miss them so much. I went back to the store before they closed and they had one more pair in my size so I purchased those too.

    These shoes are well worth the investment. I think I will probably cry the day I have to pay the full $250, but you do what you have to do. The manufacturer will resole the shoes for app. $80.

  • omshantiomshanti Raw Newbie

    www.walkerswearhouse.com just got a pair of the hikers $119!!! ugly but i hope they are as good for my back as danskos have been. i cant find my paddock boots by dansko anymore they discontinued them, last boots i bought from them where casual and unfortunatley with abuse they get around the barn, didnt last but a year! lets see how these do! im looking forward to a toned butt!!!!

  • 1sweetpea1sweetpea Raw Newbie

    I own MBTs and Keens sandals. The MBTs are not great-looking shoes, but they definitely help with poor posture. I always stand up straighter when walking or standing in my MBTs. I’m a sloucher, otherwise. I really like the calf stretch from walking in them. I also like the fact that I can shift foot positions/angles when I have to stand in one spot for long periods. An added bonus for me is they make me taller! Excuse the pun, but they rock!

    The Keens are super comfy. They are handy when you are in a warm climate and need a sandal, but want the support of a shoe. Two warnings: they make feet sweaty and sometimes a bit smelly, plus lose a bit of traction on wet surfaces. Bonus: they can be washed in the dishwasher or a washing machine.

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