Visiting the Chicago Natural History Museum and thought I’d share some of the cool shoes our ancestors used to wear.

I’m sure these may seem crazy looking and people will criticize me for posting this, but the point if the matter is that we functioned for thousands of years without a heel on our shoes. So given the advancements in materials and technology we have made why have we added a heel to today’s shoes? Our ancestors shoes didn’t have heels. Consider men’s dress shoes today. They have a solid rubber block placing the foot at an angle. For what reason? No one seems to be able to answer this question. Even my podiatry colleagues continue to treat patients for a condition known as ankle equinus which is a pathologic position of the ankle joint where not enough dorsiflexion can be achieved. Then, they place the patient into a shoe with a heel or 12-14 mm drop height which more or less forces the foot and ankle to function in a plantar flexed manor which is not the natural position. So as we can see, we have come a long way in shoe gear, but has it really effected foot function for the positive?