Why MBTs?
MBTs are not just shoes in the ordinary
sense – they are a revolutionary fitness
aid. Over ten years ago, Swiss Masai
invented Masai Barefoot Technology (MBT)
physiological footwear with its unique,
patented sole construction. MBTs promote
healthy walking and standing by
transforming hard flat surfaces into
soft uneven ground, thus creating a
natural instability, which provides all
the benefits of walking barefoot. With
their uniquely-designed sole, combined
with the appropriate training, MBTs help
to improve both your posture and gait by
activating neglected muscles, thereby
helping to reduce stress on your ankles,
hips and knees.
Are MBTs
really worth it?
In
addition to being fabulous
posture-improving footwear, MBT shoes
are an investment in your future health
and well-being. MBT physiological
footwear is supported by 39 major
medical and scientific studies globally
(verses one to none for competiting
products). MBTs have also been granted a
Medical Device Establishment License in
Canada.
"MBT strengthens the
large and especially the small muscles
in the lower extremities. The small
muscles are less trained in normal
shoes. An athlete with strong large and
small muscles has many possibilities to
act and react during sport activities.
Thus, performance should increase and
injuries should decrease."
- Prof. Dr. Benno M. Nigg, University of
Calgary
What are the benefits of MBT footwear?
- Strengthens & tones
muscles in the feet, legs, buttocks,
stomach and back
- Increases muscle
activity & circulation which may help
reduce cellulite and varicose veins
- Relieves muscular tension, back and
joint problems.
- Leads to a relaxed
upright posture and gait
Improved Posture • Increased Abdominal
Muscle Activity • +9% Buttock Muscle
Activity • +19% Rear Thigh Muscle
Activity • +18% Lower Limbs Activity
• -19% Stress on Hip and Knee Joints
With each step we take, pressure
acts on the foot. MBTs distribute this
load evenly, which prevents ailments
that can be caused by the concentration
of pressure on individual points.
Unlike ordinary shoes, MBTs
distribute pressure equally across and
along the whole foot.
The body
reacts to this natural instability with
intuitive compensatory movements. This
provides neglected muscles with
effective exercise.
Applications:
MBT is for everyone. It’s the worlds
smallest gym. Gentle, active rolling
instead of repeated compression leads to
relaxed, natural standing and walking.
Muscular tensions decrease and the
muscles become more balanced.
Warranty: Swiss Masai unconditionally
guarantees MBT footwear against
manufacturing defects and workmanship
for a period of six (6) months from the
date of original purchase.***
"Masai
Barefoot Technology", or MBT, is the
first physiological footwear - that is
footwear that has a positive effect on
the whole body.
The health and
fitness-enhancing concept being MBT is
based on a simple insight: the human
musculoskeletal system is designed for
walking barefoot on soft, natural
ground. But we all spend most of our
time moving on hard, flat surfaces.
Swiss engineer Karl Müller
discovered the beneficial effect of
walking barefoot on natural ground for
himself in the early 1990s - and also
the reason behind it: the stimulating
effect of natural instability on the
body’s supporting muscle system.
Müller began to develop a unique sole
technology that enables the body to walk
naturally, and allows it to benefit from
all the positive effects of natural
instability also on hard, flat surfaces.
The Swiss engineer’s research and
development work was inspired by the
East African Masai - exceptional
athletes with well-shaped bodies, and
little or no experience of back and
joint problems.
"Masai Barefoot
Technology" made its first appearance on
the footwear market in 1996. Development
of the unique sole construction - which
is patented worldwide - has continued
since then, with great success.
How Does MBT Work?
The revolutionary sole construction places the
body in a natural instability that can otherwise
only be achieved by walking barefoot on natural,
uneven surfaces. MBT relieves stress on joints,
exercises muscles and thus strengthens the entire
musculoskeletal system - all these effects result
from the interplay of the following components:
1. The TPU and glass fiber shank (inside the PU
midsole) provides the necessary stiffness for the
sole construction. The stiffness of the shank
ensures a natural rolling movement of the foot with
every step and optimizes the pressure distribution
over the whole sole.
2. The most important point of the PU midsole is the
balancing area underneath the metatarsus, which
requires an active and controlled rolling movement
with every step.
3. The soft PU Masai Sensor is the heart of Masai
Barefoot Technology. The Masai Sensor produces a
pleasant feeling reminiscent of walking on a sandy
beach or on soft moss.
What Differentiates MBTs From Conventional
Shoes?
The main difference between MBTs and conventional
shoes is the 3D instability created by the unique
MBT midsole with its balancing area and the soft
Masai Sensor.
The curved sole makes the difference obvious to
everybody. Conventional shoes constrain and control
the foot. The body is stabilized in an unnatural way
by the shoes, whereas with MBT shoes the body is
forced to keep its balance through muscular effort.
This natural instability underneath the feet ensures
that neglected muscle groups automatically perform
the balancing movements that nature intended.
Product History and
Description:
MBT footwear was designed in 1996
by a Swiss Engineer and has been available in Canada
since 2003. The unique sole features the Masai
Sensor, which is internationally patented. The sole
also includes: the TPU and glass fiber shank, PU
midsole with balancing area above the PU Masai
Sensor. The outer sole has a variety of slip
resistant patterns. MBT footwear is not considered
custom orthopedic shoes. They are stock footwear
that provides a unique therapeutic effect for
certain orthopedic and systemic disorders.
Functions of MBT Footwear:
The 3 dimensional instability of
the patented Masai Sensor activates the small
muscles that stabilize the foot, ankle, knee, hip,
pelvis and back so they align the joints of the body
along the center of gravity. The result is:
• Stronger small stabilizing
muscles reduce vibration and strain in tendons of
larger / longer muscles; chronic injuries can heal
and prevent RSI.
• Improved posture to reduce strain of spinal
muscles
• Reduce compressive forces on joints in the lower
limb and spine
• Improve kinetics and kinematics of joints in the
lower limb and spine as the muscle recruitment
patterns restore normal, co-ordinated movement
Benefits of MBT Footwear:
The specific design of the MBT
sole results in the significant improvements in
function, balance and biomechanics. Statistically
significant reductions in pain and joint loading
have be researched at the University of Calgary,
University of Salzburg, University of Stanford and
Praxisklinik Rennbahn (Basel, SW) published in peer
reviewed journals including Physiotherapy Research
International, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation,
Gait and Posture and Clinical Biomechanics. Research
highlights include:
• Improves self-reported
functional capacity in cases of chronic LBP
• Significant decrease of neck pain after 12 weeks
through one hour training once a week and additional
wearing of MBT during daily activities
• Reduces hip joint loading and reduces hip pain in
patients with hip replacement or hip osteoarthritis
• Reduces knee joint loading and reduces
subjectively felt knee pain in patients with
osteoarthritis
• Helps reduce subjective pain-rating following
ankle sprain and MBT can be integrated into the
physiotherapeutic concept to treat ankle joint
instabilities without any risk and will have
superior long term effects
• Reduction in pain after 8-weeks wearing of MBT by
patients with medial-plantar heel pain
• Increase of quality of life and the habitual well
being of employees – with work predominantly done
while standing – in an operational setting after 7
weeks
• Daily wearing of MBT (4 hours) improves postural
stability as effectively as a 4-weeks sensorimotor
training
• Significant increase of oxygen-consumption (+9.3
%) while standing with unstable shoe construction
compared to a flat control shoe with the same weight
MBT Footwear - Clinical
Conditions:
For Your Doctor: MDEL Canada
(3579).
MBT shoes can be beneficial in a variety of
clinical settings. MBTs are prescribed by medical
doctors for a variety of conditions including, but
not limited to:
• Lower Back/Pelvis:
Mechanical low back pain, scoliosis, subacute chronic
disc prolapse, sacroiliac joint dysfunction.
•
Hip: Hip OA (osteoarthritis), weak hip
stabilizers, ITBS (Iliotibial band
syndrome), following hip replacement,
piriformis syndrome.
•
Systemic Disorders: Diabetes, varicose veins,
lymphovenousedema
• Feet and Ankles: Heel
spurs/ plantar fasciitis, hallux
limitus/rigidus, bunions (exostosis),
mid-foot OA (osteoarthritis), achilles
tendonitis, sprained ankle, ankle fusion.
• Knees/Legs: Shin splints,
patello-femoral syndrome, ligament injuries,
post-knee surgery and immobilization, knee
joint instability, knee OA (osteoarthritis),
varicose veins, lymphodema, following knee
replacement, following ligament
reconstruction, following menisectomy or ACL
surgery.
•
Rehabilitation after the first 12 weeks
following surgery of any kind.
MBT footwear is the first physiological footwear in
Canada to be granted a Medical Device Establishment
License (MDEL) (#3579)
How to Buy MBT Shoes? Order
online or call us toll free at 866-947-6789.
Email us or
call toll free 866-947-6789 for additional
information on Masai Barefoot Technology footwear
from Swiss Masai.
Live in Winnipeg? Visit us in
store to see our large selection of MBT
Shoes and other footwear products.
Remember, in addition to the MBTs, we've got
thousands of other
health products at Aviva!
Don't want to order online? Call us toll free at 866-947-6789 to place an order.
Customers in Canada - FREE Shipping - New lower MBT Canadian pricing!
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