Have Cushiony Shoes Messed Up Runners?
Performance and new technology for athletic shoes were highlighted as long ago as 1961, when Fred McMurray, playing the Absent-Minded Professor, brought “Flubber” (“flying rubber”) to basketball shoes long before Michael Jordan brought his Air Jordan’s to the market. The movie, which predates the concept of the “energy return system” and the new “spring shoes,” came along immediately following the victory of barefoot Abebe Bikila in the 1960 Olympic Marathon of Rome gliding along the cobblestones and not even stubbing a toe.
For most of evolutionary history, human beings on earth were either barefoot or wore thin footwear with little cushioning relative to our modern running shoes.
With the best intentions (and some influence from the fashion world), thick soled and heeled running shoes were made to reduce the impact caused by the foot colliding with the ground … makes sense … right?
It is shown that barefoot endurance runners (e.g. in Africa) either land on the forefoot or land with a flat foot, but not on the heel!
On the other hand, typical runners who wear shoes (e.g. here in Canada), most often impact the ground with their heel. Heel strike is made easy by the elevated and cushioned heels of the modern running shoe.
A study by Lieberman et al1 shows that even on hard surfaces, barefoot runners produce smaller collision forces than runners who strike with their heels even with thick-soled shoes.
So… the current theory is that thick-heeled shoes are causing lower limb impact injuries in runners. Although counter-intuitive, wearing thin soled or flat shoes may protect the feet, knees and the hips from impact-related injuries.
If you have thick-heeled shoes, do not panic, just run with less focus on heel strike and more of forefoot strike! Google Pose Running or Chi Running for technique information.
1Lieberman DE, Venkadesan M, Werbel WA, Daoud AI, D’Andrea S, Davis IS, Mang’eni RO, Pitsiladis Y. Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners. Nature. 2010 Jan 28;463(7280):531-5.
Author Bio: Heather Stanley has a B.Sc. in Kinesiology and a MASc. in Nutrition. Along with consulting for several national health-care companies, she enjoys a healthy lifestyle in Horseshoe Valley, Ontario, Canada where she teaches Yoga and NIA, and coaches endurance athletes of all ages and levels. You may contact her by email at heatherstanley@rogers.com or visit www.dharmayogawellnesscentre.blogspot.com or www.endurancecoach-heather.blogspot.com
