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Do We Need Running Shoes To Run?
Posted by
ScuttleMonkey
on Tue Apr 21, 2009 06:38 AM
from the kenyans-have-it-right dept.
from the kenyans-have-it-right dept.
prostoalex writes to tell us The Daily Mail has an interesting look at current research in the field of running and injuries related to running. Most of the evidence pointed at a lack of any need for running shoes. Some of the more interesting points: the more expensive the running shoes, the greater the probability of getting an injury; some of the planet's best and most intense runners run barefoot; Stanford running team, having access to the top-notch modern shoes sent in for free by manufacturers, after a few rounds of trial and error still chose to train with no shoes at all."
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Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Funny)
Now see, this proves there must be a Designer! ;-)
/me runs and hides!
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Funny)
Now see, this proves there must be a Designer! ;-)
Show me the designer label and I'll believe you
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There Are At Least Two Sides (offtopic, again) (Score:5, Interesting)
First of all, when our first child was around the age where she started learning to walk, a nurse told us we should not make her wear shoes, at least not regularly. If a kid has shoes on while learning to walk, that can cause serious imbalances in muscle/ligature/bone buildup, leading to damage in them. This was just something the nurse had reasoned out based on other experience about things that are natural.
Add to that the fact that industrial manufacturing can hardly adjust for individual differences. Even the best shoes, if industrially manufactured, are not made to measure. Expensive is just fashionable - but sloppily designed - as often as high quality.
Our muscles were designed to work, to move - however that design came about. From a certain point of view, a law of physics can be considered a design. Randomness also. Let's just try to learn as many as we can about them without inferring things that are not necessarily even related.
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Re:you just think you're joking. (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:you just think you're joking. (Score:5, Funny)
Yes and no.
Only a woman would write the bible to be that thick.
If God was a man, the bible would be a tri fold pamphlet with pictures of boobies on at least 30% of it to keep our attention..
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Re:you just think you're joking. (Score:5, Informative)
If God was a man, the bible would be a tri fold pamphlet with pictures of boobies on at least 30% of it to keep our attention..
Have you ever read it? There's just enough sex and violence to keep you interested for most of it.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Insightful)
Or concrete.
Just sayin'.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Funny)
You've never walked barefoot on concrete? Feels good man, especially on hot days.
Though to be completely honest, the hobo vomit is somewhat less of a tactile treat.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Funny)
Maybe if we attached some kind of protective surface on the feets, and then strapped said surface around the foot to hold it in place, eventually with some stabilizing technology so it wouldn't wobble ...
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Informative)
They wear strips of leather or rubber to protect their soles from being actually cut. if you read the article, there's quite a bit of talk of "barefoot" runners wearing simple sandals of various designs to prevent cutting injuries while still being essentially "barefoot".
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Informative)
I still wonder how the occasional barefoot track runner deals with the gravel. I guess they grow leathery hobbit-feet or something.
Pretty much. If you walk around barefoot on a regular basis the skin on the soles of your feet will thicken and become leathery and you no longer need shoes, even when walking or running over gravel. The reason the skin on your feet is so soft compared to every other animal is because you've worn shoes your whole life.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Interesting)
The importance of running to early Homo is, of course, conjectural. But it does make sense: few other animals are capable of long-distance running, and none can do so under a blazing sun. (Wolves and hyenas, for example, require cold weather or nightfall for long-distance hunting; otherwise they overheat.) Endurance running might have set early humans apart from the pack.
According to study co-author and Harvard University anthropologist Daniel Lieberman, many modern anatomical features make sense in the context of savannah marathons. Achilles tendons act as springs to store energy. Our hind limbs have extra-large joints. Our buttocks muscles are perfect for stabilization, as are regions of the brain uniquely sensitive to the physical pitching generated by the motion of running.
Informative indeed.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Insightful)
You're also meant to reproduce by the age you're 14 or 16. Aside from legal considerations, today you'll probably get to be on a talk show if you do.
Evolution stopped being important when civilisation set in. Or rather, it changed. It's no longer "natural" selection, we found our own selection criteria and moved on with it. Earlier the female chose her mate by his fitness. Today, she chooses him by the size of his wallet. Evolution 2.0, if you will.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Insightful)
Earlier the female chose her mate by his fitness. Today, she chooses him by the size of his wallet. Evolution 2.0, if you will.
I would argue that she's still choosing her mate by fitness. A "large wallet" is indicative of societal fitness. In civilization, physical fitness has decreased in reproductive importance as it no longer has a significant bearing on our ability to survive and protect the family. The size of the wallet, however, is a very good indication of how well a mate can provide for the family.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Insightful)
Or rather, it changed. It's no longer "natural" selection, we found our own selection criteria and moved on with it... Evolution 2.0, if you will.
One really annoying thing about Evo 2.0 is that people that should be having more kids (kind, intelligent, financially responsible) are not but those that should not (lazy, stupid people, with anachronistic religious views) are pumping them out like it's their job to overpopulate the world.
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Re:Of course we don't need running shoes (Score:5, Insightful)
Evolution doesn't have a mind at all.
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Suspiciously well-written science article in DM? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Suspiciously well-written science article in DM (Score:5, Informative)
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Re:Suspiciously well-written science article in DM (Score:5, Funny)
You're missing the next page where Daily Mail service returns to normal; an analysis of how running barefoot may affect your property value, how sponging benefit cheats are given your money to spend on fancy sport shoes, and a reconstruction of how lovely and dainty Diana's feet would have looked, had she not been forced to wear shoes by evil Charles.
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Football is the same (Score:5, Interesting)
'Until 1972, when the modern athletic shoe was invented, people ran in very thin-soled shoes, had strong feet and had a much lower incidence of knee injuries.'
And football supposedly had a much lower incidence of injuries before the introduction of "pads" (which quickly became an offensive weapon allowing harder hits)
Of course, this could just be "numbers". Many of the running injuries treated today are repeat injuries. Prior to the invention of the running shoe was also pretty much prior to modern sports medicine, meaning a single injury would have prevented you from running again. Today's numbers may be higher than historical numbers due to the vast number of people who continue running after recovering from surgery to correct their problems.
Re:Football is the same (Score:5, Funny)
What they fail to mention is that prior to 1972, no-one ran. Then jogging was invented and we've regretted it ever since.
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Re:Football is the same (Score:5, Interesting)
Today's numbers may be higher than historical numbers due to the vast number of people who continue running after recovering from surgery to correct their problems.
Sound like the "divorce" statistic that is often quoted: "50% of marriages end up in divorce". the truth is that there are just as many long term marriages as ever, but at one time divorcees did not remarry. Now it is common to remarry and (re)divorce, skewing the statistics.
Darn repeat offenders.
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Re:Football is the same (Score:5, Funny)
Sound like the "divorce" statistic that is often quoted: "50% of marriages end up in divorce".
They're the lucky ones. The other 50% end in death.
(Not my joke, can't remember whose though)
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Re:Football is the same (Score:5, Interesting)
That's part of it, but the biggest problem is how the 50% number is generated. It compares the number of people getting divorced to the number of people getting married in a single year. Since most people don't get married and divorced in the same year, the results are skewed. Even worse, most people currently getting divorced are baby boomers; a huge statistical bulge that recently married Gen-Xers can't hope to compensate for (much like social security). According to this report [divorcereform.org] the divorce rate in the US has never been 50% even at it's peak in the 1970's and has been dropping since then.
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It would be cool... (Score:5, Funny)
Re:It would be cool... (Score:5, Informative)
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Correct technique is more important than shoes (Score:5, Informative)
The correct running technique - which can vary from runner to runner - is much more important than the type of shoes. Some running shoe brands claim that their shoes encourage and help do the right technique, but it really boils down to doing it by yourself.
The only point I see in running shoes is an certain amount of cushoning, since we tend to run on concrete quite a lot, allthough our type of pavements have only been around in recent history.
It's safe to say that most of the running shoes available are mostly snakeoil.
My Knees and Hips Disagree (Score:5, Interesting)
I'm 46 and I'm a casual runner. For years I had intermittent knee and hip pain during and after a 4-6 mile run. I finally broke down and spent more money ($90-$110) on good quality running shoes. The pain is gone. I can run 6 miles regularly with nothing but plain old muscle pain. I can tell when it is time to buy new shoes too. After a couple of hundred miles and the shoes lose their cushion, I can feel it when I run.
Re:My Knees and Hips Disagree (Score:5, Insightful)
So you had bad shoes, then bought good ones, and then the good ones went bad, and somehow that means that good shoes are better than being barefoot?
Check your data again. It doesn't lead to your conclusion.
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Re:My Knees and Hips Disagree (Score:5, Informative)
Running shoe padding wears out over time. In fact there is even a "best by" date on good running shoes. After a couple years on the shelf they get recycled because the padding material inside begins to break down. With regular running it also breaks down. Please try to be informed about a subjective before ridiculing someone who is actually directly involved with it.
Some may say "how convenient" regarding the sell-by date, but I'm in the same boat. I can tell when a running shoe is beginning to wear out as I begin to have more knee and foot pain. Of course, my whole body is screwed up so I'm more sensitive than most.
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hmm .... (Score:5, Interesting)
No joke
The Daily Mail (Score:5, Insightful)
Not to trot out the correlation-causation thing (Score:5, Insightful)
From the summary:
Isn't it possible that the more you run, or the more you get into running, that it is more likely you are going to purchase the more expensive running shoes? So that would seem to correlate mileage and expensive shoes, and it is possible there is a relationship between increased mileage and increase injuries.
The right shoes (Score:5, Informative)
Something TFA doesn't mention is that most people buy running shoes off the shelf based on silly considerations like colour, brand loyalty, whatever.
I was recommended a local sports shop where they look at your foot, watch you run on a treadmill, and ask you what kind of running you do (road, trail, track; distance; etc.). That leads to a shortlist of appropriate shoes, then you try those out on the treadmill, and eventually (in theory) leave with shoes that are right for you.
If you over-pronate, and you buy shoes designed for under-pronators, that's likely to lead to injury.
Anecdote (Score:5, Interesting)
Here's an anecdote... if we get another one then we have data :)
About half way through my first semester at uni, I was getting out of my car and my sneakers fell apart. I took them off, chucked them in the car, and went barefoot for the next 2 years or so (mostly - they don't let you into cinemas etc without shoes on :).
My feet got really tough, 40C days walking on hot tarmac didn't bother me (unless I stood still for too long). I never got stung by a bee, never had any major injuries. I would only notice small pieces of glass stuck in my foot by the noise they made on concrete when I stepped :)
I did quite a bit of walking too, 5km each way too and from uni when my car wasn't going, which was often.
Then the first joint on my big toe started hurting on one foot. A day or so later, the other big toe started hurting in the same way. It was like an ache that shot up each leg every time I took a step. I put some shoes on (workboots) and the pain went instantly. I didn't go barefoot for a few weeks, but the next time I tried both feet were aching within hours. Haven't gone barefoot since.
Now that was about 12 years ago so I may have some of the facts muddled up, but obviously going barefoot just wasn't for me. I didn't really do any running so it's not completely relevant to the topic, but I can't imagine that running would have been any kinder to my feet than walking.
Maybe shoes mimic the sort of ground that humans evolved around, vs the rock hard tarmac and concrete that I was doing most of my walking on?
You gotta be able to hold it (Score:5, Informative)
I'm no runner, I'm more into downhill skiing. Equipment does play a huge role, from shoes to skis to how you set it up. Yet you would not put the same equipment on an inexperienced person just learning that an expert uses. First, the size of your skis. You couldn't turn my skis if you're new to the sport, they're just too long and too clumsy for you. An accident is almost inevitable. My shoes, you wouldn't want them, they kill you and take away any kind of feeling or movement you might still have. The way I set my binding would certainly mean a torn lingament to you when you hit the ground because it would not open.
I can only assume it is the same with running equipment. I guess, when I use the equipment of someone who has the muscles and sinews of an experienced runner, I'd sooner or later twist my ankle (because frankly, my ankle stability is close to nonexistant compared to the rest of my foot), and I'd probably end up with really bad knees because I wouldn't know how to run in those things sensibly to handle the shock, something that, again I assume, an experienced runner can easily handle.
There is ski equipment, good equipment actually, available to people who are new to the sport. They don't give you top speed or handling, but they are quite forgiving and they do "cushion" you a lot and keep you from being injured. I can only assume it could be the same for other sports, including running.
So my guess would be that, as someone new to running, you'd probably need equipment that helps you avoid injury rather than equipment that "makes you good". At least, well, that's what I'd want when I start with a sport. I certainly don't want a Formula 1 car to learn driving, the chances to kill myself are just a wee bit too high.
Not sure I believe this (Score:5, Insightful)
"Then there's the secretive Tarahumara tribe, the best long-distance runners in the world. These are a people who live in basic conditions in Mexico, often in caves without running water, and run with only strips of old tyre or leather thongs strapped to the bottom of their feet. They are virtually barefoot."
Virtually barefoot. Which is to say not barefoot at all. These 'best runners in the world' have decided that they need footwear.
Cheers,
Ian
They make my feet hurt less (Score:5, Funny)
Good for Stanford, run barefoot all you want. A good pair of shoes allows me to run with less pain in my Achilles tendon. Since no one else needs, them, I feel kind of special: A multi-billion dollar industry is targeted directly at me.
Re:Hmm, no... (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Hmm, no... (Score:5, Informative)
I love running barefoot. If you keep an eye on where you're going, you won't step on anything you shouldn't. And once you get calluses built up you can take a bit more than 'normal'.
The longest I've ever run (10 miles, 8 miles, 7 miles) were all bare foot. If you stay on the balls of your feet and don't heel strike it feels like you're gliding. Funny that this is just now being researched heavily. I did my own anecdotal research and it made sense 4 years ago.
http://runningbarefoot.org/ [runningbarefoot.org]
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Re:Hmm, no... (Score:5, Insightful)
Running on the balls of your foot means that the shock is being absorbed in your calf muscles. Running on your heels means it's being absorbed in the cartilage of your knees, which can very quickly wear out. Most running shoes I've tried have been weighted such that it's easier to put your foot down on your heel than on the front of your feet, which is likely to cause long-term injury (the cartilage damage is cumulative). They attempt to avoid this by having a lot of padding under the heel, which ends up making the heel heavier and making it even harder to put your weight on the front...
That's not to say running shoes are intrinsically bad. If I were to design some, they would be flexible underneath, to make it easy to run on the balls of your foot. They would probably be weighted slightly forward, so that your toes would be pulled down, and would probably have a thinner sole at the back than the front. In short, they would be almost the opposite of most running shoes I've seen. If anyone wants to make shoes like this, please send me a pair...
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Benefits... and glass shards (Score:5, Interesting)
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Re:Benefits... and glass shards (Score:5, Informative)
I've been wearing them nearly every day for 6 months, including on runs. Very comfortable, sole is holding up well. You do have to adjust your running style, but my feet feel fine when I wear them.
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Re:Running injuries... (Score:5, Funny)
I imagine most running injuries are caused by running in the first place.
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