Changing Running Shoes Ideal

A new study published in the Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports proves what you've heard and known for years: that switching out your running shoes throughout the week, between at least two pairs, lowers your risk of injury. 
Runners who rotate among different models of shoes during the 22 week study were 39% less likely to have a running injury than those who stay in the same shoes. 
Researchers in Luxemburg gathered information on training volume, injury rate, cross-training, shoe usage, and other variables from the 264 adult participants. During the 22 week study, 87 of the 264 participants

developed a running-related injury, which researchers defined as: "a physical pain or complaint located at the lower limbs or lower back region, sustained during or as a result of running practice and impeded planned running activity for at least one day."
116 of the participants were classified as single-shoe wearers; runners in this category did 91% of their total running in the same pair of shoes and ran in an average of 1.3 pairs of shoes during the study. The rest, 148 participants, were classified as multiple-shoe wearers. Those in this group tended to have a main shoe, which was worn for 58% of their mileage, but they rotated among 3.6 pairs of shoes throughout the study. 
Once the numbers were finalized, researchers found that those who were multiple-shoe wearers had a 39% decreased risk of injury. 
Researchers believe the answer to this lies in how different shoes distribute the impact forces of running differently, and therefore lessening the strain on tissues. 
"The concomitant use of different pairs of running shoes will provide alteration in the running pattern and vary external and active forces on the lower legs during running activity. Whether the reduced [injury] risk can be ascribed to alteration of different shoe characteristics, such as midsole densities, structures or geometries can be determined from those results and warrant future research," writes researchers.
Supporting this idea of reducing injury risk by changing tissue loads, researchers also found that runners who had more cross-training had a lower risk of injury. 
"Multiple shoe use and participation in other sporting activities are strategies leading to a variation of external and internal loads applied to the musculoskeletal system that could have a beneficial effect on [running injuries. Although speculative, it could be that any training paradigm that limits excess repetitions will decrease the risk of [running injuries], especially overuse injuries," the researchers wrote. 
If you are a runner with a foot or ankle problem, call our Rocky Hill or Middletown office to make an appointment.
Jeffrey S. Kahn, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Sports Medicine Podiatrist in CT
Podiatrist in Rocky Hill and Middletown, CT
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