Late 2010 I had a stress fracture in my left foot. I got thru it thanks to some good advice from letsrunners. I still feel a twinge in that area from time to time--nothing really to worry about, and fewer and further in between as time passes.
However I did notice an interesting thing. It happens most often when I'm wearing my work boots, which are somewhat heavy and stiff. Second most often when I'm running in running shoes. I've been doing all my cooldown runs after treadmill sessions barefoot, which amounts to maybe 6-8 miles per week of barefoot running. The really interesting thing is that I never ever seem to feel the twinge when running barefoot. I figured that a little barefoot running might help strengthen my feet. I would have guessed that if barefoot running is supposed to strengthen the feet, it must also be putting more stress on the feet. So why don't I ever feel the twinge when running barefoot?
Today at work I was doing something where my legs and feet were in the same position for a while. When I tried to move they had slightly stiffened up; that's when it occurred to me--stiff=brittle and weak. Does it work this way with shoes too? The stiffer, bulkier, more 'protective' shoes actually leave you more susceptible to injury, due to lack of flex. Any shoe/foot experts out there have an opinion?