Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT) shoes were dreamt up by a Swiss engineer, Karl Muller, who noticed that his back pain was relieved as he was walking barefoot across a rice field in Korea.
He did a little more research and discovered that the Masai tribesmen of Africa were known for their good posture and didn’t suffer from lower back pain the way that Europeans and Americans seem to. He attributed this to the fact that the Masai walk barefoot whereas we walk in heeled shoes on hard, concrete surfaces.
MBT shoes were specifically designed to replicate the mechanics of walking barefoot on soft ground – like sand or lush grass for example. The idea was – and reading customer feedback it seems to have been achieved – to improve posture, reduce jarring and impact forces to joints and thereby reduce back pain.
The short video below should give a good idea of how MBTs work and the benefits you can derive from them:
In summary, the benefits of MBT shoes are:
- Activation of infrequently used muscles
- Toning and shaping of the body
- Improved posture and gait
- Less stress on the joints, hips and back during walking
- Can help with hip, leg, back and foot problems
There’s considerably less emphasis on the toning effects of MBT shoes and a lot more focus on the benefits in terms of improved posture and reduced jarring to the joints. You can really see how the soft insert in the heel section would reduce the impact when your foot makes contact with the ground. The continued rolling action as you move forward also seems to be a much more natural way of walking.
Somewhat ironically, whilst most other toning shoes manufacturers are developing their range to include shoes which look more “normal”, MBT started with standard type shoes and have recently introduced shoes which look like fitness footwear into their range. At the end of the day, it’s all good from the customer’s point of view. More choice and more styles just makes it that much more likely that you’ll be able to find something that you like after all.
MBT shoes are available for both men and women. You can choose from sandals, business shoes, exercise shoes, Mary Jane shoes and boots. There’s plenty of different styles and colors and you should be able to find something that will be suitable – whether you want to wear them to/at work or during your leisure time.
