Running Shoes More Damaging to Knees, Hips, Ankles
Than Running Barefoot
Greater stresses on joints than running barefoot or
walking in high-heeled shoes
See link below to
Anatomy of a Running Shoe
Jan. 4, 2010 Knee osteoarthritis (OA) is the
cause of more disability in senior citizens than any other disease, but
much of it may be the result of running shoes, says a new study.
Although running is good for the cardiovascular system, and has many
other health benefits, it also increases stresses on the joints of the
leg and there may be even more stress if the runner is wearing running
shoes.
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story
In osteoarthritis, taking oral ibuprofen is more
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By Lisa Esposito, Editor, Health Behavior News
Service
In a study published in the December 2009 issue of
PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation,
researchers compared the effects on knee, hip and ankle joint motions of
running barefoot versus running in modern running shoes.
They concluded that running shoes exerted more
stress on these joints compared to running barefoot or walking in
high-heeled shoes.
Sixty-eight healthy young adult runners (37 women),
who run in typical, currently available running shoes, were selected
from the general population. None had any history of musculoskeletal
injury and each ran at least 15 miles per week. A running shoe, selected
for its neutral classification and design characteristics typical of
most running footwear, was provided to all runners.
Using a treadmill and a motion analysis system,
each subject was observed running barefoot and with shoes. Data were
collected at each runner's comfortable running pace after a warm-up
period.
The researchers observed increased joint torques at
the hip, knee and ankle with running shoes compared with running
barefoot.
Disproportionately large increases were observed in
the hip internal rotation torque and in the knee flexion (bending) and
knee varus (turned inward) torques.
The Anatomy of a Running Shoe
Learn the ins and outs of all the parts of your
running shoes.
Collar: The inside back portion of the shoe
that provides comfort around the ankle
Dual-Density Midsole: A mechanism, most
often a firmer wedge of foam on the medial (inner) side of the shoe,
used to correct excessive pronation
Eyelets: The holes that the shoe laces run
through
An average 54% increase in the hip internal
rotation torque, a 36% increase in knee flexion torque, and a 38%
increase in knee varus torque were measured when running in running
shoes compared with barefoot.
These findings confirm that while the typical
construction of modern-day running shoes provides good support and
protection of the foot itself, one negative effect is the increased
stress on each of the 3 lower extremity joints, according to the study.
These increases are likely caused in large part by
an elevated heel and increased material under the medial arch, both
characteristic of today's running shoes.
Writing in the article, lead author D. Casey
Kerrigan, MD, JKM Technologies LLC, Charlottesville, VA, and
co-investigators state, "Remarkably, the effect of running shoes on knee
joint torques during running (36%-38% increase) that the authors
observed here is even greater than the effect that was reported earlier
of high-heeled shoes during walking (20%-26% increase).
Considering that lower extremity joint loading is
of a significantly greater magnitude during running than is experienced
during walking, the current findings indeed represent substantial
biomechanical changes."
Dr. Kerrigan concludes, "Reducing joint torques
with footwear completely to that of barefoot running, while providing
meaningful footwear functions, especially compliance, should be the goal
of new footwear designs."
Souce:
The article is "The Effect of Running Shoes on
Lower Extremity Joint Torques" by D. Casey Kerrigan, MD, Jason R. Franz,
MS, Geoffrey S. Keenan, MD, Jay Dicharry, MPT, Ugo Della Croce, PhD, and
Robert P. Wilder, MD. It appears in PM&R: The journal of injury,
function and rehabilitation, Volume 1, Issue 12 (December 2009),
published by Elsevier. The article has been made freely available and
may be accessed at:
http://www.pmrjournal.org/article/S1934-1482(09)01367-7/fulltext
