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Your shoes and running
02.12.2009
Your shoes and running
Many people around the world enjoy running or jogging as a form of exercise. It is a great way to get fit as the body is designed for movement and not stagnation. With all the technology in the world today there are more running injuries than ever. Shin splints, Heal pain, runners knee, hip pain and low back pain are very common. The body is designed to move freely and everything that we wear can alter and impair movement. Todays so called ‘specialised running shoes’ with inflexible thick soles especially at the heel are designed to ‘cushion’ on impact. This creates a dumb foot! What happens is that the brain and foot cannot communicate as to how the foot is meant to naturally function due to the fancy shoes on ones feet. In affect the shoe does the running for you rather than nature intended it. Too many people today heel strike when running or jogging and fitness trainers can even advocate this. This is poor instruction.If the body is not designed to run this way then why is everyone doing it?
Heel striking creates compression and wear and tear of major joints. When you run you have 4 - 8 times your body weight traveling up your foot, ankles, knees and pelvis. There is also the weight of your head, arms and upper spine traveling down. Both of these forces converge in the core or abdominal musculature. This is natural but when heel striking happens all the forces dissipate through the joints and the weight distribution is amplified. Think how many steps you take during your run. Hundreds possibly thousands. This unfortunately leads to injury. When running is done barefoot the body naturally adjusts to good posture and limits the pounding of joints. Heel striking is almost inevitable as the sports shoes of today force you to run in such a poor mechanical way. Flat and thinly soles shoes are the best way to improve your running and reduce orthopedic injuries.
‘Five Finger shoes’ are the best shoes to buy as they are designed to enhance proprioceptive awareness and postural alignment. Wearing Five Finger shoes forces you to run and jog correctly because there are no air pads or huge cushions at the heel of the shoe. You will run as humans are meant to run. When you run correctly naturally you will hugely decrease chances of injury.
Try this. The next time you go for a run take your shoes off for a minute and run at the same speed you would with your shoes on. If you are a heel striker you will notice the heaviness and discomfort of your landing foot. You body may adjust and shift the weight to the front of the foot as if to save your heels. This would be correct. Make the transition slowly as the feet have been running in a specific way for so long, therefore the muscular structures around the foot and ankle need time to strengthen.
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