A decided advantage of running is the minimal equipment requirement, relative to other sports. In our fair city, a T-shirt, shorts, and proper shoes are all you need from spring through late autumn. But what constitutes proper shoes?

For most of us, a single criterion overshadows all others: we lust for a pair of sneaks that lets us train without injury.

Certainly, no manufacturer makes a shoe that provides immunity from stress fractures, plantar fasciitis, shin splints, or other common running ailments – but not for lack of trying.

Over the past four decades, running-shoe companies have relentlessly developed sophisticated features for cushioning, arch support and motion control. But have these whiz-bang “improvements” reduced injuries to runners?

It’s tricky to submit that question to scientific investigation, because so many factors (such as running surface, weekly mileage, and intensity) are involved. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that runners are sustaining higher injury rates than in the past, even as shoe offerings get more technical. Moreover, some researchers, medical professionals, and coaches point out that enveloping the runner’s feet in highly protective shoes may promote atrophy in foot musculature, and inhibit the natural development of a strong arch.

Doctor Joseph Froncioni, an orthopedic surgeon and devoted runner, recently authored an extensive essay, entitled “Athletic Footwear and Running Injuries.” In it, he referred to a number of studies which back up his contention that runners will experience fewer lower extremity problems if they can wean themselves from fancy footwear.

Froncioni cited a 1992 survey published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, in which 2,300 Indian children were examined for flat feet (”fallen arches”). The children who wore shoes daily had over three times the rate of flat feet, compared to those who spent most of their time barefoot.

Froncioni also discussed an experiment in which barefoot subjects stepped down on four identical platforms. The subjects were told, however, that each platform had a different degree of cushioning. The subjects consistently recorded higher-impact forces on platforms which they thought were more cushioned. From this study, it’s not far-fetched to assume that runners may unconsciously forego their innate ability to land lightly, if they’re clunking along in cushy shoes.

So, should we toss all our high-tech footgear in the dumpster, and commence with completely unshod running? Probably not. But gradually exposing our feet to natural impact — and letting them adapt to careful stress — makes sense.

You might start with a few minutes of shoeless running on grass, two or three times a week. Too, slipping into thin-soled racing flats for some of those shorter training runs can build foot strength. Personally, I will now spend all my time in the yard barefoot … as soon as I get rid of those fire-ant beds.

Source: tallahassee.com

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