MBT style shoes (curved sole shoes)

In the early 1990's a Swiss engineer made a number of observations regarding how certain peoples in Korea and Africa walked when travelling barefoot on soft ground.

This engineer, called Karl Muller, noticed certain implications relating to posture, a lack of back problems and some other health related characteristics that were absent from these rural living people.

These observations led him to the conclusion that, those walking in bare feet on a soft and giving, yet uneven terrain, seemed to be free from back problems, joint issues and other notable "modern day" bone and muscle stress ailments.

From this he drew the conclusion that their footwear (or lack of it) and the nature of the ground upon which they walked were paramount to their good health.

He also contrasted this with the hard and harsh pavements, sidewalks and constructed surfaces that those in the first world walk upon. This led him to the conclusion that many back, joint and muscular health issues that plague those in the first world may be linked to these differences in lifestyle and mobility.

Curved shoe soles

Following on from this Muller developed the shoes, trainers and footwear that now appear under the MBT (Masai Barefoot technology) brand. The "Masai" bit coming from the tribe known as the Masai tribesmen of Kenya who are famed for their tall physiques and near perfect posture. (They of course walk barefoot in their natural surroundings.)

What the MBT shoes do is offer a pronounced curve to the underside of the shoe's sole. This, it is claimed, goes some way towards replicating the natural rocking motion experienced when walking on soft ground like sand, a lush lawn, a paddy filed or an African plain.

Proponents of this style of shoe believe that this "rocking" motion causes a number of natural movement and muscle reactions that are good for posture, muscle development and joint movement. It is also suggested that the subtle changes that these shoes make in the way that their wearers walk also reduces stride length which in turn produces more steps, more exercise and better muscle development.

Just how effective these curved sole shoes actually are is open to debate and, although research has been undertaken on how they work, different investigations have drawn different conclusions.

What is for sure is that these shoes and trainers (sneakers) have captured a large part of the young health shoe market with a number of celebrities publicly wearing them.

What is also evident is that their highly unusual appearance is currently seen as fashionable and that their bulky and unusual style, far from being described as ugly, is regarded as a fashion statement.