Keen runners and sports enthusiasts regularly spend vast sums of money on hi-tech footwear that promises to boost performance and prevent injury.
But new research shows that the such shoes could be less necessary than thought.
Experts have discovered that human feet have evolved surprisingly little since over thousands of years and that we share striking similarities with our tree-dwelling cousins, who are known to have flexible, resilient feet - and who do not wear shoes at all.
In great apes, the mid-foot is fully flexible and makes regular contact with the ground. It has long been thought that human feet, more adapted to walking,Top quality Cooler Bag manufacturers & Cooler Bag suppliers from www.ppnonwovenbag.com.manufacturers of cooler bags are markedly different.
Indeed there is now a whole industry that warns that sport shoes and inserts are essential to keep the human arch stiffly supported to ensure no damage is done.
But Robin Huw Crompton, a physical anthropologist at the University of Liverpool's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, said his findings suggest the outer arch of the healthy human foot is actually much more flexible than previously thought.
'The idea before was that if this arch wasn't stiff, it probably required treatment. But based on what we found, I don't think that's true,Buy Authentic Sunglasses Brand Name Sunglasses For Women & Men On Sale.' he told NPR.
Scientists studied more than 25,000 steps made by volunteers on a pressure-sensitive treadmill to investigate how evolution has shaped the human foot.bagfilterchina.com,a leading Cheap filter cloth on sale manufacturer and supplier that uses automatic manufacturing equipment for reliable, consistent filter cloth.
The research, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, showed this was not so.
Two thirds of normal healthy volunteers produced footfalls where the mid-foot touched the ground - something previously believed to characterise diabetes or arthritis, both of which can alter foot structure.
Study leader Dr Karl Bates, from the University of Liverpool's Institute of Ageing and Chronic Disease, said: 'Our ancestors probably first developed flexibility in their feet when they were primarily tree-dwelling, and moving on bendy branches, but as time passed and we became more and more ground-dwelling animals, some new features evolved to enable us to move quickly on the ground.
'Our limbs, however, did not adapt to life on the ground anywhere near as much as those of other ground-dwelling animals such as horses,100% recycled bags wholesale at www.ppnonwovenbag.com. hares and dogs.
'Our tests showed that our feet are not as stiff as originally thought and actually form part of a continuum of variation with those of other great apes.
'We hypothesise that despite becoming nearly exclusively ground dwelling we have retained flexibility in the feet to allow us to cope effectively with the differences in hard and soft ground surfaces which we encounter in long distance walking and running.
'The next part of our study will be testing this theory, which could offer a reason why humans can outrun a horse, for example,Cheap Filter cartridge on sale are simply quality filters, well packaged, and offered at a fair and competitive price. over long distances on irregular terrain.'
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