Barefoot hikers preach foot fitness.

They have stronger feet, able to withstand injuries such as sprained ankles, because they have stronger muscles and tendons, they say.

Stuart Schilling, a podiatrist for 30 years, trusts in shoes.

"Personally, I don't like being barefoot at all, not even around my own home," he said.

Minor scratches become portals for "fungus or bacteria that are everywhere."

Infection, he said, "is probably the leading cause of medical expense" in foot care.

"If people are going to do this because they find a need, at least do it in a smart way."

Schilling suggests regular foot inspections as well as moisturizing creams, infection-preventing vitamin A and skin-toughening soaks.

"Injury is a real issue," he said. "It's pretty easy to bump into something or have things stubbed or have someone step on you."

In structural terms, shoes don't make much difference to healthy feet, Schilling said — but they do benefit feet needing support because of weakened arches or ankles.

Barefoot hikers have found scientific studies that reinforce their view.

Shoes render toes "functionless" and restrict motion, according to a 1905 study in The American Journal of Orthopedic Surgery, noting that shoes are designed by "the whim of society and the manufacturers' enterprise."

And, says a 1987 study published in Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, running- and jumping-related injuries occur more frequently among shoe-wearing populations.

"High-injury frequency" creates the mistaken perception that the foot is poorly designed, the later study states: Shoes diminish "sensory feedback" without reducing enough impact — "a dangerous situation."

Hookworm, an intestinal parasite, invades the body through bare feet in contact with human feces, mostly in tropical or subtropical areas.

About 1 billion people are infected worldwide, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Widespread 100 years ago in the Southeast, hookworm infections are "largely controlled" in the United States.

Legal matters

In 2001, Bob Neinast of Pickerington sued the Columbus Metropolitan Library over a rule against bare feet.

A U.S. District Court judge threw out the suit last year, agreeing with the library that the rule protects patrons from exposure to broken glass, blood, feces and semen.

Neinast, who contends he is being denied rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution, has appealed to the 6 th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

He has a letter of apology from the Smithsonian Institution, which turned him out when barefoot. (He later returned for a visit with barefoot friends.) And he maintains a list of government buildings he has entered in bare feet.

Public institutions may impose "reasonable regulations for public health and safety," City Attorney Richard C. Pfeiffer Jr. said.

So the Central Ohio Transit Authority bars barefoot riders, although nothing keeps a car owner from legally driving without shoes.

"Dare I say I have driven barefoot," Pfeiffer said. "You can feel that pedal."

Surviving city streets, he said, requires wearing shoes.

"Who knows what lurks in the concrete at Broad and High?"

Columbus health codes don't prohibit bare feet in public.

Meanwhile, "There are no health concerns or health regulations regarding bare feet in restaurants and businesses," said Michelle LoParo, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Health. "It is a business decision."

mellis@dispatch.com