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Running in running shoes gives more stress to joints than walking in high-heeled shoes
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A recent study shows that running in running shoes exerts more stress on knees, hips and ankles than running barefoot or walking in high-heeled shoes.
The study appears in the December 2009 issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation.
“Remarkably, the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques during running (36% to 38% increase) that the authors observed here is even greater than the effect that was reported earlier of high-heeled shoes during walking (20% to 26% increase),” lead author D. Casey Kerrigan, MD, and colleagues wrote in their study. “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.”
The investigators studied 68 healthy, young adult runners who ran at least 15 miles per week and had no history of musculoskeletal injuries, according to an American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation press release. For the study, the investigators provided the runners with a running shoe that had the typical design characteristics of most running shoes. The investigators used a treadmill and motion analysis system to observe the participants running barefoot and wearing running shoes. After the runners had a warm-up period, the investigators collected data on the participants’ comfortable running pace.
The investigators discovered greater joint torques in the hip, knee and ankle when the participants wore running shoes compared to running barefoot. The participants had an average 54% increase in hip internal rotation torque, a 38% increase in knee varus torque and a 36% increase in knee flexion torque when wearing running shoes compared to running barefoot.
“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,” Kerrigan concluded.
- Reference:
- For more information:
Kerrigan DC, Franz JR, Keenan GS, et al. The effect of running shoes on lower extremity joint torques. PM&R. 2009. Dec;1(12):1058-1063.