These shoes could put you at greater risk for running injuries, study finds

Here’s some potentially helpful news for both longtime runners and those considering picking up the habit in the new year. Scientists have found little evidence that the thickness of the heel of your shoes can affect your risk of injury.

Researchers from the University of Florida conducted the study, which aims to better understand the risk factors that lead to running injuries. They found that people who wore shoes with larger heels were more likely to have recently had a running injury. The findings suggest that thicker shoes make it harder for people to gauge how their feet are hitting the ground while running, the researchers say — an inaccuracy that can contribute to injury.

Some studies have indicated that both the thickness of our shoes and how our feet land on the ground (also known as our foot model) could be risk factors for running injuries. But researchers at the UF Health Sports Performance Center wanted to get a better sense of how these two things might interact with each other to make running more risky. So they went back and looked at the data collected from more than 700 runners who visited their clinic over the years to improve their performance or their chances of preventing injuries.

After accounting for factors such as age, weight, or level of competitiveness, the researchers noted several consistent trends. People who wore shoes with larger heels were more likely to have suffered a running-related injury in the past six months, and were less able to correctly predict their foot pattern (runners were asked about his usual running pattern, after having his pattern). stroke objectively measured by clinic).

While running, people hit the ground with the back, front or middle of their foot. The researchers found that runners who did not accurately know their running pattern were the least likely to report suffering recently, while those who did not know their running pattern were the most likely to be injured. Meanwhile, rear-foot runners were the most likely to guess their model wrong, especially if they wore shoes with larger heels. The results of the team were published last month in the newspaper Frontiers in Sport and Active Life.

The results only show an association between heel thickness and running injury, and it’s unclear whether heel thickness directly increases the risk of injury, the researchers said. As with other aspects of running, it is likely to be complicated. Some research indicated that forward running is healthier or helps prevent injuries than rear-foot running, for example, while other research he didn’t have

It could be the case that the best methods to prevent running injury will depend a lot on the individual runner. So while bigger shoes may not directly increase the risk of injury, they could make it harder for people to know which running style works best for them in the long run, the researchers say.

“The shoe sits between the foot and the ground, and features like a large drop from heel to toe make it more challenging for runners to identify how they hit the ground. That clouds how we retrain people or determine if someone is at risk for future injury,” said lead researcher Heather Vincent, director of the Health Sports Performance Center at UF, in a declaration “Runners who correctly detected mid or forefoot strikes had very different shoes: drop from heel to toe; lighter; wider toe.”

That said, trying to switch to a different style of shoe or running too quickly can itself increase the risk of injury, according to the UF researchers. The pattern held true in this current study, as people who changed shoes recently were more likely to report a recent injury. So any big changes in your running should be done gradually, Vincent notes.

“I had to teach myself to get out of big high-heeled shoes to something with more moderate cushioning and work on strengthening the foot,” he said. “It can take up to six months to feel natural. It’s a process.”

Vincent and his team plan to conduct controlled studies to test whether changing the type of shoe can help improve people’s accuracy of their running style and reduce the risk of injury. And from there, they might be able to figure out the best ways to keep injuries at bay for any type of runner.