MBT shoes are one of the 'new' entries in the healthy shoes scene. MBT stands for Masai Barefoot Technology, and their manufacturer boasts great benefits of wearing and using MBT shoes properly. Those benefits include improving your posture and activating your neglected muscles. MBT shoes can also improve your walking gait and can help you tone and shape your body. However, do not call MBT footwear shoes – the company prefers to refer to them as'anti-shoes'.

MBT Footwear, developed by Swiss engineer Karl Muller, was inspired by his history of back problems and observations Muller made while vacationing in Korea in 1990. Muller realized that his chronic back pain was virtually non-existent in that area. He deduced that the easing of his back problems was due to the long, barefoot walks he was taking on the soft, springy ground of the Korean rice paddies.

Back home, he began to research shoe design and the construction of the foot. He learned that the Masai tribe in East Africa often walked enormous distances over the East African savannah in bare feet without tiring, and that back pain and arthritis were non-existent in their culture. That led him to investigate the differences in gait between barefoot walking on soft surfaces and our own habit of walking in heeled shoes on hard surfaces. What he learned led to the development of MBT footwear and the anti-shoe philosophy on which the company is built.

The anti-shoe philosophy holds that many of modern man's ills arise from walking on hard surfaces in the wrong kind of shoes. The combination of poor posture encouraged by even moderate heels and the impact of walking on hard surfaces, says the MBT philosophy, contributes to joint and bone damage, as well as other conditions which may surprise you.

MBT shoes are designed to counteract the effects of walking on hard surfaces by simulating the experience of walking barefoot in soft sand or springy moss. The MBT technology encourages the body to use neglected muscles, and not just those in the feet. Here's how:

The foot is designed to support the weight of the body when walking and standing. When we walk naturally, the heel strikes the ground first, absorbing the majority of the impact. Our feet then roll forward, spreading the impact over the entire body of the foot, which is designed to do exactly that. When we walk on soft surfaces – and keep in mind that most natural surfaces are soft and resilient – our entire bodies shift to provide stability and maintain balance. Walking on an unstable surface encourages your body to use the core muscles to maintain the proper balance and posture.

In addition, wearing MBT footwear forces your leg and foot muscles to work differently. When you walk in MBT footwear, your foot rocks and your calf muscles do the job that they were meant to do – stabilize your gait so that you can remain upright and keep your balance. That changes the way that other muscles in your body interact with each other. Infrared scans of bodies walking in MBT shoes show that the muscles in the backs of their thighs, their buttocks and even in their abdomens work harder. Because your muscles are working harder, your body is burning more calories when you walk in MBT shoes.

Even when working out regularly, there are some muscle groups that are neglected. That's part of the reason that so much importance is placed on core strengthening and training. Walking in MBT footwear forces the body to use those neglected muscle groups the way they were intended, strengthening core muscles that improve posture. One of the side effects of the posture improvement and core strengthening is that you are giving your lungs and other organs the room to work properly.

Because MBT shoes encourage shorter gaits and force your body to maintain its own stability and alignment, every step puts less strain on your joints and ligaments. That reduces the chance of injury and reduces pain from improper walking and posture.

The unique design of the MBT sole makes your body work harder with every step you take. The natural rolling movement of walking on an uneven surface expends more energy. According to research conducted by independent labs, your lower leg muscles are 18% more active when walking in MBT shoes than in normal athletic shoes. Your thigh muscles work 19% harder, and your buttocks work 9% harder. Even the muscles of your abdomen and upper back work harder. The end result is more toned and shapelier muscles.