Product Description

MBT's are not just a shoe in the ordinary sense. This product will not only change the way you use your muscles, but will improve the use of your joints and spine. The uniquely designed sole achieves a more active and healthy posture and walk. With each step we take, pressure acts on the foot. MBT's distribute this load evenly, which prevents ailments that can be caused by the concentration of pressure on individual points. Masai Barefoot Technology in Everyday Use: Train muscles, burn calories, protect joints ... while you're doing something else. Shopping, in the office, at home. MBT's act as training equipment, every step of the way. The more you wear MBT's the more your body will feel the benefits. Masai Barefoot Technology is used in Sports: Many professional athletes rely on MBT's for regeneration, prevention and accelerated healing of injuries and in endurance and coordination training. MBT's are perfect for jogging and for training but not for competitions. Masai Barefoot Technology for Medical Applications: MBT's can contribute significantly to alleviating a variety of ailments, and many doctors and physiotherapists like to use them to treat patient. With its special sole construction the MBT places the body in a natural instability which is being compensated by a balancing movement. Stress on joints is relieved by activating the joint near and stabilizing muscle groups. The result is an erect, natural and biomechanical correct gait. MBT can help with back, hip, leg and foot problems as well with medical conditions regarding the muscles, ligaments and tendons. Free included DVD contains training, care & use instructions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #25838 in Sports & Outdoors
• Size: 6.5 B(M) US
• Color: Silver
• Brand: MBT
• Fabric type: Mesh and synthetic
• Dimensions: 2.00 pounds

Features

• Decreases Stress On Knee & Hip Joints by 19%
• Increases Buttock Muscle Activity by 9%, Rear Thigh Muscle by 19%, Lower Limbs by 18%
• Improves Posture & Gait, Tones & Shapes The Body, Activates Neglected Muscles
• Can Help With Joint, Muscle, Ligament & Tendon Injuries, Back, Hip, Leg & Foot Problems

Amazon.com Review

At MBT we don't believe in shoes. We believe in footwear that makes you better from the ground up. MBT: The idea of Physiological Footwear MBT, Masai Barefoot Technology, was invented by Swiss engineer Karl Müller. During a visit to Korea he made the startling discovery that walking barefoot over paddy fields alleviated his back pain. Back in Switzerland, Müller began to develop a footwear technology that would make the natural instability of soft ground such as Korean paddy fields or the East African savannah accessible also to those, who have to walk on hard surfaces. In 1996, after years spent on research and development, Masai Barefoot Technology was mature enough to be launched on the market. MBTs are now available in over twenty countries, and approximately one million pairs of this revolutionary footwear technology are sold every year. How the anti-shoe is pro-body: Because of the specially designed sole, wearing MBTs significantly improves your gait and posture and relieves pressure on your joints and back. It also exercises a large number of muscles, whether you’re walking or standing. This, in turn, stimulates your metabolism, burns extra calories and speeds up muscle regeneration. In addition, MBTs can have a firming effect on abdominal, leg and buttock muscles. The key to MBT is its patented sole structure. The Shank, PU Midsole with Pivot and the Masai Sensor create a soft surface that is akin to walking barefoot on springy moss or on a sandy beach. This creates a natural instability underfoot, which activates the supporting muscle system and has positive effects on the entire body.

MBT technology mimicks walking in barefeet.

Wearing MBT mimicks walking on soft, natural ground. When the heel strikes, the heel sinks into the ground and the body has to stabilize. When the foot rolls forward, there is a controlled rolling over the balancing area towards the ball of the foot. The toe rolls off (without pressure).

MBT's ensure the foot’s natural rolling movement and optimizes pressure distribution over the whole sole.

The Anti-Shoe MBT would like to help people all over the world lead a healthier, more active and happier life. MBT is convinced that human fitness and health are significantly influenced by the way we walk – this conviction has already been substantiated objectively by many scientific studies. MBT therefore attempts to awaken and strengthen the awareness of physiologically correct walking among people world-wide by disseminating the idea and concept of MBT physiological footwear. The benefits of physiologically correct walking can thus be made available to as many people as possible all over the world, in a straightforward and uncomplicated way.

MBT's Masai Sensor creates natural instability, to which the body responds with increased muscle activity.

MBT's Patented Sole Technology The Lasting Board binds the upper and lower parts of MBTs together. The Shank provides firmness to the sole and also ensures the foot’s natural rolling movement and optimizes pressure distribution over the whole sole. The PU Midsole with Pivot triggers an active rolling movement and exercises a large number of stabilizing muscles throughout the entire body when walking or standing. The Masai Sensor creates natural instability, to which the body responds with increased muscle activity. The rubber Outsole protects the Midsole.

Amazon.com Product Description
This is classic athletic footwear with reflective striping, and it's comfortable and fashionable enough to wear all day--to strengthen your core without any extra effort.

Amazon.com Product Description
This style from MBT features a classic athletic upper with sporty stripes and adjustable lacing. But it's everything your current sneaker isn't, because you get a workout from simply wearing it.

Customer Reviews

Buy 1/2 Size Bigger
This is a great sneaker that lives up to it's word. However, you must absolutly buy a larger size because these shoes run SMALL! One half size larger will work for you. I had to return my original order in exchange for a larger size, and that was a bit of a hassel.

Back pain? GONE!
I've been wearing these shoes for 2 1/2 years. I bought them because I hoped it would help me with my daily back pain (I was taking antiinflamatories on a daily basis). Let me also tell you that I'm active. I'm used to aerobic exercise, and I'm fit. Running is my passion and I didn't want to give it up. It was like this, I would wake up pain free, would run on the treadmil and stretch, run some errands and there she was the back pain. Then she'll visit with me till the end of the day. Of course it kept getting worse, till the point I would get out of bed pain free and after walking around the house a little bit there she was the back pain waiting on me to keep me company for the rest of the day.
I was researching on the internet when I bumped into these shoes. Actually I was looking for some Birkenstocks when I found MBTs. I was so desperate to come up with a solution for my back pain that I made my husband drive me to Texas, about 70 miles far from where I live, to Frisco so that I could get them that very same day. I didn't want having to wait for the MTBs being shipped and stuff.

They advise you to get started little by little and there is a DVD and a pamphlet that cames along with instructions. Anyway, I put MBTs on and got out of the store, did grocery shopping and the relief was so big I wore the shoes for the rest of the day. Next day I put them on when I woke up (literally) and ever since I've wore it for 2 years straight. Sandals in the summer and sneakers in the winter. I like the sandals best. No more pain, no more pills. Although I am fit, my legs got a little bit tired during the first week or so because you start using muscles that might have never been requested before. In the past 6 months I haven't been wearing them as often, I just walk on them when I exercise on the treadmil (running on them is pretty tough, it's like running on very soft sand) and I also make sure I have them on when cleanning the house and traveling. These sandals are just perfect for traveling. I'm brazilian married to an american, so I visit my country often and a 10 hour flight can get your feet pretty swollen. Studies show that you still maintain your good posture for 2 or 3 days when not wearing the MBTs.

Bottom line, they took my back pain away for good. I was told they might loose their cushioning after a year but no. Good quality shoes, I'm still wearing the first pair of sandals and sneakers I bought. As far as muscular improvement I havent' noticed much since I was already fit when I started wearing them. I've seen websites that would advertise the fact that these shoes improve your celulite and things like that. MBT Company is very serious and doesn't mention anything like that. I know that some fancy spas do sell them. MBTs are bulky and heavier than normal shoes but nevertheless very comfortable.
When you find something that takes your pain away like I found relief in these pair of shoes, you stick with it.

Great Comfort, easy on my back!
I read Ana Luiza Welch "TIPSY GIPSY" RSS Feed (Kingston, OK USA)'s review of her MBT shoes, and I'm saying "AMEN SISTER!". I don't own the models she reviewed. I have this one and the one like it, which is green. I'm not too thrilled with the colors, but that's what was available at the place I bought them. I'm NOT a fit person, like she describes, but yet, these shoes are GREAT when I have to go shopping in "big box stores" with their awful concrete floors that just ordinarily would rip up my back. These shoes I can wear and just bounce all over that floor as if I was a healthy three year old... no back pain, no joint pain in my knees.

I've stopped and talked to others wearing their MBT's when I'm out shopping and they love their MBT shoes too. The price is high but they do qualify as medical equipment - so if you have a medical condition that could be improved by walking and extra exercise, and you have a decent medical insurance or flexible spending account (FSA) plan, talk to your doctor, get a prescription, buy those shoes and your insurance should cover it (ask first to be sure but in our case, we had no problem being reimbursed.). We got two pairs with our insurance, with the amount of FSA we had left to work with, and both pairs were covered. So that's something to consider if you need shoes to deal with back pain or knee pain or working on concrete surfaces, but are choking at the cost... well... even without insurance, $250 or whatever this is, it's a lot cheaper then the price of back surgery!!

My main downside with these shoes is that the shoe runs a bit smaller in size, especially for those in a wide width, so I went up a 1/2 size. I might have benefited from a full size larger. As a result, sometimes it's a very tight fit with the thicker athletic socks, so I've had to use thinner socks. I also have to take them off for a while after I've walked, to help my feet cool down.