“Comfort” in Sneakers May Not Mean What You Think
It is probably best to choose a shoe based on comfort rather than old theory of assessing your gait and correcting pronation. But many runners, especially beginners, may misunderstand what is meant by comfort.
New research published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine confirms the comfort filter is one of a runner’s best shoe selection tool:
Based on the lack of conclusive evidence [of kicking and pronation], which were once considered the main predictors of running injury, two new paradigms are proposed for elucidating the relationship between footwear and injury. These two paradigms, “preferred path of travel” and “comfort filter”, assume that the runner intuitively selects a comfortable product using their own comfort filter, which allows them to stay on the preferred path of travel.
The problem with talking about “comfort” does not mean choosing the most comfortable shoes or the ones that seem perfect when you put them on in the store. Rather, you want footwear that you feel comfortable in as you run.
Runner’s World spoke to some experts about what “comfort” is. Jeff Gray, president of the shoe research laboratory, notes that this advice is easy to follow if you have experience: you know how you like to move your feet, and you can tell which shoe works with your body, not against it. But he and other experts warned that many runners rate comfort as what they are used to or which shoe feels most comfortable.
Researchers Benno and Sandro Nigg explain what you really need to look for:
Unlike how we use the word in everyday conversation, Nigga’s “comfort” means more than comfort, softness, or cushioning. … Your body wants to move in a specific pattern that is unique to your bones and joints, and will naturally follow that path. That’s why you can choose your partner from the approaching crowd of runners half a mile away.
Sandro Nigg explains that while different footwear will not affect this pattern much, some will require more muscle to be used to achieve the desired stride pattern. Basically, you are fighting a boot to run the way your body prefers. The best footwear for you will allow you to run as you are designed to run with the least muscle effort.
Unfortunately, there is no easy test (yet) to see if a shoe is right for you, but a trial run (as most running stores allow) is a good start. Follow the link below for some tips on how to improve your chances of finding comfortable shoes.
Shoe selection: should comfort be your only guideline? | World of runners
Photo by Martin Howard .
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