A common question asked regularly is: “What is the best shoe to wear while running?” . Or to put it more precisely "Is the $200 you spend on footwear worth it?"

Lets face it , sports and sports wear is big business . Nike alone posted 7.4 BILLION in sales of sports and athletic wear in the last quarter of 2015.  What helps generate this are the never ending parade of new models and lines of footwear that are marketed to improve performance and/or prevent injury.

 This has led  many shoe manufacturers to go to  great lengths to develop shoe that address problems in  running styles and foot-strike patterns. This is designed to “fit the athlete with the proper shoe that matches their gait pattern”.As a result, many injured athletes have gone to great lengths, spending great deal of time and money trying to find a shoe type that would help them avoid injuries as they relate to shoes. 

The shoe types vary in design to control different "foot strikes " of the runners. Some common incorrect "foot strikes " may include:  over-pronators (their feet turn inwards when they run) , some are heel-strikers (they land on their heels rather than the balls of the foot ), others for forefoot runners (land too hard on front of the foot) , supinators, high arches, flat feet and on and on. 

In theory  this appears to  make sense . The idea being that the shoe will limit the amount of pronation in an over pronator or cushion a "heel strikers heel" may help reduce the resulting injuries commonly caused by these conditions.This has been an advice that many professionals have been giving to athletes and patients when faced with the question.

Surprisingly, the most recent studies say otherwise!!

Recently there were two studies  published in The American Journal of Sports Medicine and the British Journal of Sports Medicine that found no correlation between shoe types and injury reduction/avoidance.

The study published in the American Journal of Sport Medicine involved thousands of military recruits who were divided into various groups.Some were fitted with the “proper shoe” type, while others were given shoes at random without any relation of foot strike or gait pattern to their shoes.At the end of the research period the reported results indicated that there were no relations between fit and injury prevention!

In the second study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine similar research was done involving 80 female runners who completed a 13 week running trial. Interestingly, in this study the majority of those who reported missing days due to injuries or pain were those who were “fitted” to their shoes!

The final recommendations based upon these studies were that shoe fitting has no bearing on injury prevention as it relates to running.It is the basic rule that the athlete must follow: If it hurts, it is not right for you.

Dr Ray Gaskey , NASM- CES, PES, GFS, FAKTR