Mark Keedwell: Foot and Back Relief — The Masai Way
Posted on Thursday, April 18th, 2013
My foot and back problems began when I moved to the Vancouver area after living in the Yukon for nine years. I am convinced that they were caused by my having to walk on concrete, asphalt, and other unforgiving surfaces. After years of exercising on Mother Earth’s more forgiving skin, my feet, legs, and lower back found the pounding they took from man-made pavement a major stressor.
Over the last 15 years I’ve been fitted for two different pairs of orthotics but gained only temporary relief in both cases. I had reluctantly resigned myself to a life of discomfort and limitation until friends told me about MBT shoes earlier this year.
A Swiss engineer who was tired of living with constant back pain discovered that the Masai tribe in Africa does not have a history of foot and back ailments. He was immediately intrigued. As he researched their home environment, he learned that their secret is walking on uneven ground. This keeps the muscles in the ankles, legs, and backs in excellent working order. Those of us who spend our days on flat ground gradually lose this muscle tone which eventually results in painful symptoms.
Having unlocked the mystery, the engineer spent the next eight years perfecting a shoe design that would simulate the uneven ground conditions of the Masai. The result was the MBT (Masai Based Technology) shoe.
I purchased a pair in August of this year from Foot Solutions here in Ottawa. While it took me two or three weeks to get used to their radical design, which does not allow you to remain still even when standing in one spot, I can now wear them for 12 hours at a time without discomfort. For me, this has been a delightful, but totally unexpected outcome. The hard, flat surfaces of southern Canada no longer rule my life.
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