Why You’re Overthinking Your Running Shoes, According To Science

Shoe lore of questionable origin is rampant in running communities. your Feet, one school goes. (This requires an evaluation at your local running store.) Another thought is whether you should wear minimalist shoes, I never have Wear minimalist shoes. Still others believe that if you have pain, soreness, or an injury, your shoes are likely to be the culprit.Do our shoes really determine our risk of injury? New Cochrane review I asked that question and shrugged my shoulders.

This review looked at studies that compared different types of shoes. To define some terms, motion control shoes are intended to correct the tendency of the foot to roll too far inward (“overpronate”). The same goes for stability shoes, which aim to reduce some of that movement. Neutral shoes don’t try to change the movement of the foot in any particular direction. Cushioned shoes are neutral shoes with extra cushion. Minimalist shoes have little cushioning and aim to cover your feet without restricting movement. For each shoe type, there are proponents who argue that choosing the right shoe can reduce your chances of injury.

If shoes were as important to injury prevention as we were led to think, the review should have found that injury rates track shoe choice. A meta-analysis of more than a dozen studies was performed. The 11,000 participants found nothing really actionable. Among the findings:

• Do neutral/cushioned shoes cause more or fewer injuries than minimalist shoes? Shoe choices “may make little or no difference,” the authors write, and there’s not even a clear consensus on which style runners prefer. were more satisfied, but another survey found the opposite.)
• Do motion control shoes cause more or less injuries than neutral/cushioned shoes? “It is uncertain…because the quality of the evidence is rated as very low certainty.” In other words, the study does not give a clear answer.

• Do shoes with softer midsoles cause more or fewer injuries than those with harder midsoles? “Softer midsole shoes may have little or no impact on the number of runners sustaining lower extremity injuries from running. Compared to shoes with a stiff midsole. ”
• Do stability shoes cause more or less injuries than neutral/cushioned shoes? “It is unclear whether stability shoes reduce the number of runners with lower extremity injuries from running. When compared to neutral/cushioned shoes. ”
• Do stability shoes cause more or fewer injuries than motion control shoes? “It is unclear whether motion control shoes reduce the number of runners with lower extremity running injuries. When compared to stability shoes. ”
• And finally, the big question: Will prescribing shoes based on foot type reduce injuries? “There is no evidence that running shoes prescribed based on static foot posture reduced the number of injuries compared to military recruits who received shoes that were not prescribed based on foot posture. did.”

Cochrane reviews are highly rated for solving these problems using the best of current scientific capabilities.And this, with all its data points, could not conclude that Any Category shoes reduce injuries compared to other shoes. Additionally, we found no evidence that finding the right shoes could reduce injuries. For you.

The result is accompanied by large grains of salt. The reviews are as good as the studies they review.means Possible It shows that one shoe type is better than another, but if so, the difference is not as significant as it appears in the results.

One exception is the section on shoe prescription based on foot type.It’s what they call “moderate certainty” evidence, and it’s on a more solid foundation. please do not You need to have your feet evaluated by a professional just to know which shoes to buy.

So which running shoes should you buy?

Of all the hypotheses that have been put into this study, the only one that can actually get away unscathed is the idea that you should run in shoes that feel good. almost ten yearsand that’s what many great running coaches ask.

It does not mean that Impossible That shoe choice affects the risk of injury. A better designed study could have detected subtle differences between shoe types assigned to different categories of runners.

Ultimately, if you’re happy with your shoes, I don’t think you need to change anything.But I want everyone to do it too please Stop telling new runners they need to get their feet wet, check their footprints and see what their foot type is. doubly Stop blaming shoes for running injuries without considering other factors that can lead to injury.For example, the amount of running you do, the type and intensity of running you do, and other factors such as whether to do strength training It probably has more to do with injury risk than shoe choice.

Years of on and off with unexplained foot pain, despite the issues I had when I first started out with running shoes and the purchase of expensive motion control shoes that were coached I wrote about my life as a runner. To believe that I needIn the end it worked trust my gut (I ended up running a pain-free marathon in that type of shoe.)

In many areas of fitness, people care about: Details that are not so important in the long runA shoe company has to convince you that your new shoes are better than the ones you’re wearing now. must convince But you can also try out a few shoes, see what you like, and go guilt-free.