The key purpose of a runner having good running footwear is usually to assist in preventing injury and help them run faster. Using an inappropriate running footwear for a runner is believed to increase the chance for an exercise related injury and help to make the running less economical. Whereas if the proper running footwear was used then there's a lower possibility for an exercise related injury and also the athlete is more efficient in the way they run. There is lots of dialogue if the athletic shoes does indeed actually achieve that or not. There's not a lot of evidence to support that and what little data there exists shows that it might not be a correct assumption that the running shoes might actually prevent injury. Various athletic shoes businesses have handled the issue or situation diversely with each brand giving up diverse strategies with various levels of success. There's an incredibly broad range of running shoes available on the market, with each brand and model having various design characteristics which the running footwear shop should preferably match them up to the needs of the individual runner.

Just over a year ago, Nike released the new Nike React Infinity running footwear together with the strong claims that it can reduce running injury by 52% and that they had research to support that promise up. You need to be cautious making such health claims about running shoes as they possibly can be and also have been the reason for legal action and deals with the regulation government bodies in the past. As of writing this, the study that supports the Nike claim has not been released for peer critique and all that can be found is an abstract of the outcomes of the study. The research was conducted by a university for Nike. The study divided 226 athletes spanning various ages and abilities in to 2 different groups as they were training for a half marathon. Half of the runners ran in the Nike Structure that is a standard motion control running shoe and the other group ran in the new Nike React Infinity Run footwear. The outcomes showed that runners using the React Infinity experienced a 52 % decreased injury rate as opposed to runners in the motion control running footwear. The wearers of the React Infinity additionally observed that they experienced less pain within their knee joints as well as the feet from the running. These results look good, though the study should be put under more scrutiny prior to it being widely believed.

All of these concerns are frequently challenged and litigated in many different places. An episode of the livestream, Pod Chat Live has been focused on running shoes. In that show the two hosts (both runners) discussed the topic with Michael Nitschke who is a podiatrist, a good runner as well as a running coach. In a thread on the forum, Podiatry Arena, there is a lot of discourse about the Nike statements regarding their Nike react minimizing running injury incidence. Due to the number of differing views and opinions it is really an dilemma that is not likely to be reconciled any time soon.

Posted in Health and Fitness