New Scientist, UK
10-11-07
Cheaper running shoes win comfortably
Expensive running shoes might look flash, but cost does not necessarily buy
better cushioning, says a team of UK medical engineers. In fact, cheaper might
do it better when it comes to absorbing shock.
The comfy squish of running shoes provides feet with shock absorption and
diminishes peak impact forces upon hitting a hard surface. Excessive impact is
thought to contribute to running injuries such as shin splints and stress fractures.
Upscale athletic shoes often claim added protection against the bodily wear and
tear of running, and indeed some studies suggest that pricier materials can more
effectively reduce impact force than cheaper ones.
Other evidence, though, suggests that runners wearing fancy footwear are 123%
more likely to get injured, possibly because they over-estimate the protection and
run with greater impact (British Journal of Sports Medicine, vol 91, page 299).
So Richard Clinghan and his colleagues at the Institute of Motion Analysis and
Research at the Ninewells Hospital and Medical School in Dundee, Scotland,
wanted to test whether pricey shoes were more comfortable using a novel
pressure-sensing insole.
Cheap and comfy
The team recruited 43 men to try out expensive ($143 - $153), moderate ($123 $133) and inexpensive ($82 - $92) running shoes from three different brands. At
the bottom of each shoe was a lightweight insole fitted with 99 pressure sensors
to measure the distribution of pressure across the foot. Each subject also rated
the shoe for comfort.
In the study, subjects did not rate the higher priced models as more comfortable
than low or medium priced shoes. What's more, the mid- and low-priced shoes
actually performed slightly better on measures of overall foot pressure.
"This may suggest that less expensive running shoes not only provide as much
protection from impact force as expensive running shoes, but that in actual fact
they may also provide more," say the authors.
Timothy Derrick, at Iowa State University, who has tested shoes for Consumer
Reports, Runners World and the US military, however, says that softness of the
sole isn't everything. "There are many things besides cushioning that go into
injury prevention," he says. "In fact you can have too much cushioning."
Gimmicky features
Heavy runners, for example, need firmer support to keep the shoes from
bottoming out. Also, well-built shoes often have so called dual-core soles with
softer support on the outside of heels and harder support on the inside, which
provides a stable and more comfortable landing.
Furthermore, says Derrick, impact forces themselves may not be the root cause
of injury. Just as working out develops muscles, weight-bearing exercise builds
healthy bones. For example, runners who routinely run on hard surfaces do not
show greater levels of injuries.
That certainly suggests expensive is not necessarily better, Derrick says, who
adds that most major shoe manufacturers use a very similar design and very
pricey footwear is likely only useful for the injury-prone. "There are some
gimmicky shoes at the very high end where you are probably not getting any real
benefit. You may be paying for a feature of a shoe that you don't need."
But he equally advises against very cheap runners: "They feel great when you
put them on, but they tend to deteriorate way too fast."
Journal Reference: British Journal of Sports Medicine (DOI:
10.1136/bjsm.2007.038844)
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