Barefoot running can help decrease knee pain

Patellofemoral pain is one of the most common cause of knee pain. It is caused by imbalances in the forces controlling patellar tracking during knee flexion and extension, particularly with overloading of the join. Typical symptoms include pain behind or around the patella that is increased with running and activities that involve knee flexion.

There could be alot of reasons behind this, but running with wrong footwear could be one.

Running barefoot have in studies proved to significantly decreased peak patellofemoral joint stress in comparison to shod running, which can increase knee pain. Note that if you’re not having any pain running with shoes then you should stick with that. Abrupt change from running with shoes to running barefoot is not recommended, as stress fractures increase. Your feet should adapt first, and you should preferably use barefoot running shoes.

Source:

Jason Bonacci. Take your shoes off to reduce patellofemoral joint stress during running. J Sports Med 2014; 8:425-428