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The purpose of an athletic shoe is to protect the foot from the stresses of your sport, while permitting the athlete to achieve his/her maximum potential. While in some parts of the world athletes run and participate in sports barefooted, most of us require and benefit from the use of sport specific shoes. The concept of "Sport Specific Shoes" is an important one. It means that if you participate in multiple sports you need a shoe that is specific to each of those sports. |
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If you lift weights, play tennis, do aerobics, run 20 miles per week, cycle, play golf, shoot hoops, snow board, mountain climb and play tennis – do not try to make your cross trainers do it all. Purchase shoes that are specifically made for each sport.
The forces and motions that occur in different sports vary greatly. Because of these differences participation in varied sports require varied shoes. A brief look at the foot and leg motions in running and tennis will readily demonstrate the differing requirements of these sports. Tennis and other racquet sports require much side-to-side motion and the shoe must provide lateral stability. The shoes appropriate for racquet sports usually do not have any heel elevation. If the shoe is unstable when the athlete is moving across the court to reach a ball, there is an increased chance of injury such as an ankle sprain.
Running, on the other hand, usually occurs in a straight line. Lateral stability is not as important. These shoes usually have slight heel elevation which will reduce stress on the Achilles tendon, but slightly reduce the lateral stability of the ankle. Running shoes also have a larger toe box, more shock absorption, and better pronation control than tennis shoes. Interestingly enough, many of the so-called walking shoes have characteristics that are more similar to tennis shoes than to running shoes. Walking and running both occur in a straight line and the similar requirements of these activities suggest that one would be better off using running shoes for walking, rather than a shoe that resembles a tennis shoe. Unless, of course, you walk down the street practicing your backhand returns.
Long distance runners usually contact the ground on their midfoot. Sprinters have forefoot contact. Middle distance runners vary and may have forefoot or midfoot contact. Some runners contact the ground with their heel. This is often a sign of over striding.
Should You Wear Racing Shoes
If you are planning on breaking a 4 minute mile (for which you will be wearing spikes anyway) or a 2:30 marathon then racing shoes might be for you. But only for racing and very limited training. Estimates from research indicate that you will have a 1 second per mile improvement for every ounce less of shoe that you lose. Going from a 14 ounce shoe to a 9 ounce shoe is a 5 second difference per mile which would leave you about 32 seconds faster in a 10 K and perhaps 2 1/2 minutes faster in a marathon. Is that going to make or break you? If you have biomechanical flaws and are injury prone or recovering from an injury it just might break you. You will be better off in many cases just using a slightly better fitting, smoother flowing and slightly lighter training shoe for your races.
Don't forget that racing shoes do not offer much shock absorption or stability. Don't try these shoes, just to try something different or because you think this might be the key to a dramatic improvement. It could give incremental improvement and a dramatic injury. If you are biomechanically sound and so inclined you may give racing shoes a try for short races. Start with a 5K.
Flaws In "Walking Shoes"
Over the past few years walking shoes from many companies have come to resemble running shoes more then tennis shoes. This bodes well for those who select "walking shoes" for walking rather then using running shoes for walking. New Balance and Saucony among others have some very well designed walking shoes. With that said, yes, you may still use running shoes for walking.
Some sport walking shoes, however, are not well designed. Avoid the following flaws:
- Lack of forefoot cushioning in comparison with running shoes
- Flexibility in incorrect location - usually too proximal
- Lack of room in forefoot
- Inadequate support in rearfoot
- Lack of heel lift
- Skimping on quality of materials
Shoe Wearing & Buying Tips
A shoe's mid sole only lasts so long. It degrades from use and the resultant useful life of a running shoe is 350 to 550 miles. This means that if you are running 20 miles a week, you should consider changing by approximately weeks 20 to 25. The shoe may still serve a useful purpose; casual wear for walking. Replace the initial sock liner fairly quickly, it is likely designed to be comfortable and cushy when you first wear it. After that it loses shock absorption capacity quickly.
Sole wear does not necessarily reflect the loss of shock absorption by a shoe. |
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Even with a new looking shoe, adequate shock absorption may be lacking. Use the 350 to 550 mile guideline instead of trying to guess how worn your shoe should look.
Length:
Make sure there is about a finger's width at the front of the shoe. This will help prevent runner's (black) toe. The shape and depth of the front of the shoe also have an effect on this problem.
Buy your shoes at the end of the day, when your feet are somewhat larger from the day's walking.
Width:
The widest part of the shoe should be at the widest part of your foot.
If you have had no problems while running in a shoe, you should probably try to obtain another pair of the same make and model.
Don't even dream of running a marathon in a new pair of shoes. Your shoe should have at least 100 miles on it to be broken in well enough to run a marathon.
Lacing:
Make sure you carefully lace your shoe before running. Too tight a shoe may make parts of the top of your foot sore or squeeze your metatarsals too tightly. Too lose a shoe may make your foot move excessively and be less stable, resulting in more than normal pronation.
How To Fit Your Athletic Shoes
Make sure you go to a specialty running shoe store. Wear the same socks you intend to wear for your sport. Sock thickness affects the fit of the shoe. Make sure you bring your socks or buy a new pair for a proper fit. Also, if you wear orthotics, bring those along too for fitting.
Be fit for the shoe late in the day. Your foot expands later in the day after bearing weight.
Check your size each time you buy new shoes. You may end up surprised to discover that your feet continue to grow as you get older. Suddenly one day, you'll need a size 9 1/2 rather then an 8 1/2.
Make certain you go to a store that will actually let you run to see how the shoe feels when you are moving.
Buy a shoe that feels comfortable, it won't feel better in a week, if it doesn't feel good when you buy it.
Oversimplified Guide to Shoes
Low Arch - Needs much support. Stable shoe needed with good rearfoot control
High Arch - Needs more shock absorption. Better with a narrower heel A wide heel may make the rearfoot, which in a high arched foot, may be restricted in inversion and eversion, move too much and too fast at heel contact.
Normal Foot - Whatever you've been doing, keep doing. Probably best with a combination of control and shock absorption.
Do not forget to change your shoes frequently (350 to 400 miles) and get a shoe with adequate shock absorption.
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