Mia agrees!
And now that I'm getting over an injury from a fall 11 months ago, I can start running as well...
Posted on 01/04/2010 10:00:35 AM PST by decimon
Greater stresses on joints than running barefoot or walking in high-heeled shoes observed
New York, NY, January 4, 2010 – Knee osteoarthritis (OA) accounts for more disability in the elderly than any other disease. Running, although it has proven cardiovascular and other health benefits, can increase stresses on the joints of the leg. In a study published in the December 2009 issue of PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation, researchers compared the effects on knee, hip and ankle joint motions of running barefoot versus running in modern running shoes. They concluded that running shoes exerted more stress on these joints compared to running barefoot or walking in high-heeled shoes.
Sixty-eight healthy young adult runners (37 women), who run in typical, currently available running shoes, were selected from the general population. None had any history of musculoskeletal injury and each ran at least 15 miles per week. A running shoe, selected for its neutral classification and design characteristics typical of most running footwear, was provided to all runners. Using a treadmill and a motion analysis system, each subject was observed running barefoot and with shoes. Data were collected at each runner's comfortable running pace after a warm-up period.
The researchers observed increased joint torques at the hip, knee and ankle with running shoes compared with running barefoot. Disproportionately large increases were observed in the hip internal rotation torque and in the knee flexion and knee varus torques. An average 54% increase in the hip internal rotation torque, a 36% increase in knee flexion torque, and a 38% increase in knee varus torque were measured when running in running shoes compared with barefoot.
These findings confirm that while the typical construction of modern-day running shoes provides good support and protection of the foot itself, one negative effect is the increased stress on each of the 3 lower extremity joints. These increases are likely caused in large part by an elevated heel and increased material under the medial arch, both characteristic of today's running shoes.
Writing in the article, lead author D. Casey Kerrigan, MD, JKM Technologies LLC, Charlottesville, VA, and co-investigators state, "Remarkably, the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques during running (36%-38% increase) that the authors observed here is even greater than the effect that was reported earlier of high-heeled shoes during walking (20%-26% increase). 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." Dr. Kerrigan concludes, "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."
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The article is "The Effect of Running Shoes on Lower Extremity Joint Torques" by D. Casey Kerrigan, MD, Jason R. Franz, MS, Geoffrey S. Keenan, MD, Jay Dicharry, MPT, Ugo Della Croce, PhD, and Robert P. Wilder, MD. It appears in PM&R: The journal of injury, function and rehabilitation, Volume 1, Issue 12 (December 2009), published by Elsevier. The article has been made freely available and may be accessed at: http://www.pmrjournal.org/article/S1934-1482(09)01367-7/fulltext
A barefoot morning run in 13 degree temps, yea, that’ll work............
Way back when Jim Fixx came out with The Complete Book of Running there were a lot of advocates for bare foot running, or running in moccasins, which have practically no support. The new thing is the five toed shoes.
FWIW, I've run off and on for close to forty years and have never had any knee or foot problems.
When you run your brain slams around inside your skull. Its like being slapped upside the head, over and over.
Runners are unhappy, brain-damaged people!
I can't stop and decide I'm bored or the phone is ringing or I need to check FR.
The horse is the best. There are no options there. You HAVE to haul a 80-pound bale of hay, or push a heavy wheelbarrow full of poo, or sweep and shovel, or control a thousand-pound animal. They don't give you a lot of options. You find the energy expenditure is fueled by adrenalin and then you're nicely exhausted and have lost pounds afterward.
Running in bare feet (like a caveman) only works if you run on the same surfaces as a caveman would (turf, unpacked bare soil, sand). Running on pavement requires some padding to replace the “give” you would otherwise get from the softer surfaces. Running on a big soccer field facility or on a long beach right above the water line would be best.
I am pretty committed. I'd rather do one of those other things, but I don't have the option.
The nice thing about working out at home as opposed to a gym is that every minute you invest in your workout, you actually work out.
When I used to work out at the gym, I'd waste 30 minutes in traveling time alone, not to mention changing clothes/
I been using those Vibram five fingers “shoes” since last April. You have to get used to them, take at least 2 month just walking in them getting your bones and ligaments used to actually being used.
Once you are used to them they rock, it actually is really fun to run in them since you can feel what you are stepping on and with time you learn adjust so you can run on stones, gravel, cross country etc. I went hiking in the mountains in them and it worked qute well. Big advantage is that your balance is improved a lot since human foot is really good at adjusting weight distibution depending on survace you are on
Doesn't Vibram pierce easily?
They will take a little getting used to, but they are great. You will learn to walking the way our bodies were designed to walk, not the way the shoe designers want. Your feet will definitely spread out a bit. They have done wonders for my foot problems (plantar faciaitis [?], Achilles tendon inflammation/scars, etc.).
When/if I do run in them, I'll just go to a park or golf course (after hours) and run on grass.
Not too hard to find unless you live way out in the boonies. There is a “Store Locator” on their website (http://www.vibramfivefingers.com/indexNA.cfm).
Buy them tight. They don't stretch much, but they are designed to fit like gloves. They are "Euro-sized". I usually wear a 45 Euro (11 1/2-12), but I wear a 44 in these.
I'd do all three. Evidently the 5-toed shoes take a while to get used to. But when it all comes down to it, the less impact the better. And less impact does not necessarliy mean less of a workout.
I am doing the P90X system. There is no running, but there is jumping and Kenpo Karate in some of the workouts.
Do ya get shoe toe jam? Or anything else you might step in!
Don’t know. Haven’t picked them up yet. I plan too soon, though. Running on the streets on NYC should be an adventure!
Yeah a piece of broken beer or wine bottle between the toes or hooking on to a tubefish should be fun.
$500.00!!!??? For 2-3 pairs???? No way.....
Mine (black KSO’s) were $80.00
I have not had any issues with piercing with anything like glass, nail will probably pierce it but that will go through normal running shoe as well.
My suggestion is to take it slowly when you start, shoes that we wear make some of the muscles/tendons in our foot almost atrophied. With these shoes you gona use them and it takes time to build them back up. Another thing is bone density in the foot bones, you need to build it up so some of the smaller bones dont just snap
I do a lot of jogging on desert trails. I’d have bloody stumps instead of feet if I WALKED the trails barefoot!
However, I don’t see anything saying they controlled for speed. A barefoot runner would run slower and more cautiously, and therefor put less stress on his legs - because he’s protecting his feet with shorter and lower impact strides. Duh!
I don’t run for time. I do it for stress relief and the joy of getting outdoors. I’ve been running since 1972, and haven’t had an injury. I’m sure I would have if I ran as fast as I could, because maximum efforts tends to result in maximum stress.
Mia agrees!
And now that I'm getting over an injury from a fall 11 months ago, I can start running as well...
“Running hurts. I don’t know why they still promote it...honestly, I think it does more harm than good.”
Of course it does. Runners are after the self esteem and esteem of others that comes from exercising in view of their neighbors and even strangers, not the cardio benefits (which can be obtained far more efficiently and safely from other forms of exercise).
A recent study found that there is one injury requiring medical treatment or lost work for each year for each runner, on average. That is a worse record than drug addiction. If I did some activity that would put me in the doctor’s office or home in bed once per year, I’d find some better way to be miserable.
And, there is a special class of runners who exhibit aggressive/suicidal pathological behavior by running in particularly crowded or unsafe venues like traffic flows and sidewalks.
All in all, I think running should be embarrassing to those in the know about these things but they persist. Very interesting.
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