"YOUR SUPER CUSHIONED RUNNING SHOES ARE KILLING YOU!?"

Quoted: Reference https://therunexperience.com/your-super-cushioned-shoes-are-killing-you/

Researchers from the Spaulding National Running Center at the Harvard Medical School in Cambridge, MA, have found that running in highly cushioned shoes is not associated with lower impact forces than conventional running shoes.

Instead, the investigators found highly cushioned (HC) shoes result in a significantly higher vertical average load rate (VALR) and vertical instantaneous loading rate (VILR), both of which have been associated with overuse injuries such as tibial stress fractures and plantar fasciitis. The findings were presented in May at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) in San Diego.

The study was inspired by HC shoe manufacturers’ claims that the thicker midsoles reduce the impact of landing during running, said Matthew Ruder, MS, a laboratory engineer at the Spaulding National Running Center, who presented the findings. These shoes are designed with up to 2.5 times more cushioning by volume than the standard running shoe, accounting for less heel-to-toe drop and a more uniform thickness throughout the shoe. The HC shoes used in the ACSM study had a 4-mm heel drop, versus about a 12-mm heel drop in the traditional shoes.