• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Home
  • About Us
  • STEPS Virtual
  • FAQ
  • Links
  • Contact Us
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • 615.269.8844

STEPS Fitness

Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center

  • STEPS Virtual
  • Programs
    • STEPS Fitness Presents Events
    • DR. Irv’s Perfect Exercise Minute
    • Training Packages
    • Group Offerings
    • Corporate Wellness
    • Traveler’s Special
  • Personal Trainers
    • Dr. Irv Rubenstein
  • Testimonials
  • Fitness Blog
    • Dr Irv’s Fitness Blog
    • Exercise of the Month
  • Newsletters
    • Fit Happens
    • Real News Newsletter
  • Search

May 10, 2017 By Irv Rubenstein

Running Shoe Issues: Are Motion-Control Shoes Necessary?

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

I do not feign to be a running shoe specialist. Even when I was a runner – and not a high-level one at that- I did not study commercial shoes although I did study some of the biomechanics of feet, running, and shoe design in the literature. And of late I have become an aficionado of Dr Emily Splichal, a podiatrist in NYC who does some pretty hefty webinars on feet, mechanics and barefoot running.

Running Shoe Issues: Are Motion-Control Shoes Necessary?

I remember vividly a study in the ACSM’s flagship journal, Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, in the late 1980s or early 90s that woke me up to the issues surrounding our American/Western approach to footwear. It was a Canadian study that did something groundbreaking for me at my level of academics: it X-rayed  the feet of people with plantar fasciitis, a chronic pain in the heel that many runners, especially those who go at it too hard, too fast, are prone to get.

It measured the distance from the calcaneus (heel bone) to the metatarsal heads (the ball of the foot). Then it prescribed an hour a day of walking around the house or yard barefoot for a month. After doing X-rays they found that the distance shortened. That is, the arch got more tone, pulling the bones together like the ends of a bow. The pain subsided (I can’t recall in what percent but it was enough for me to remember that this study was groundbreaking; did I say that already?)

This was a good 15-20 years before the fad of barefoot shoes and barefoot running hit the marketplace.

The  earth-shattering conclusion has stuck with me since: you don’t need expensive, highly-supportive shoes to avoid injuries.

Now, that’s not to say some shoes work better for some people with some kinds of foot issues. It’s just to say that many practitioners, and a good body of science, have agreed that humans may do better going around barefoot or in minimally-supportive shoes. I have written on this topic many times here and here. And doing so works because the natural musculature of the feet suffice to support the foot if put under traditional loads. The key is ‘traditional’.

Running Shoe Issues: Are Motion-Control Shoes Necessary?1

For millions of years, or less if you are a biblical literalist, hominids walked around barefoot or in the thinnest of coverings to protect from weather more than from surfaces. But we live in concrete jungles with glass, metal shards, and other hazards that make doing so dangerous. So shoes serve a purpose. Plus, who wants to go to their doctor’s office and sit with folks who are barefoot, anyway?

So, going back to the theme here, we have science telling us cheap shoes or barefoot gait are preferable to wearing expensive supportive shoes especially those based on what your foot is like – normal, high arched or low arched. We have shoe makers telling us their shoes do this that and everything in between. Who do you believe?

Then I get this comment and link from an organization that reviews running shoes. And, wow, how easy (but long) and how thorough (but comprehensive) this explanation is. I highly recommend you read it, share it with those who run or have foot problems, and walk around your home without shoes more often.

Even if you have flat feet.

Related Posts:

  • Feet: From the Ground Up
    Feet: From the Ground Up
  • REAL News - June 2022
    REAL News - June 2022
  • REAL News - November 2019
    REAL News - November 2019
  • REAL News - September 2021
    REAL News - September 2021
  • REAL News - December 2021
    REAL News - December 2021
  • REAL News - December 2019
    REAL News - December 2019
  • REAL News - July 2019
    REAL News - July 2019
  • REAL News - August 2021
    REAL News - August 2021

Comments

comments

Filed Under: Fitness Blog Tagged With: arch support, flat feet, flat footedness, motion control shoes, plantar fasciitis, running shoes

sidebar

Blog Sidebar

FREE Consultation!

  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Categories

  • Exercise of the Month
  • Fit Happens
  • Fitness Blog
  • General News
  • Newsletters
  • Real News
  • Trainers

Tags

achieve well-being aging Alzheimer's disease barefoot running body fat bone density burn off excess weight calories cardio cardiovascular childhood obesity coronavirus covid diabetes diet dieting eating disorders Exercise exercise intensity field of health or exercise science fitness flexibility functional fitness health Heart Health higher risk of obesity lose weight mental health musculoskeletal improvements obesity osteoporosis physical activity physically active protein reduce your risk of falling resistance training running Senior Training slows cognitive decline strength training Stretching training weight loss Weight loss vs Exercise gain weight management

Recent News

Jun 01

REAL News – June 2022

May 01

REAL News – May 2022

Apr 05

REAL News – April 2022

Mar 01

REAL News – March 2022

Feb 07

Dr. Irv Rubenstein contributes to journal article on lunges

STEPS Fitness
Reviewed from Google

5 out of 5 stars

Anne Jones
Anne Jones

5 out of 5 stars

posted 1 month ago

You can feel comfortable anytime in this gym but especially during a pandemic. It is very clean and a great place to get exceptional instruction. Thanks Irv.

Big Don
Big Don

5 out of 5 stars

posted 1 year ago

This was my very first experience with a private gym and personal trainer. The owner and trainer made me feel very comfortable and at home. The gym is very clean and well equipped. I felt the price was VERY well worth the time attention I received. I will return once my work schedule becomes more predictable.

Read All 36 Reviews

Search Our Directory

Footer Widget Header

Affiliations

  • american-college-of-sports-medicine
  • american-council-on-exercise
  • biometrics
  • exercise-etc-inc
  • national-strength-and-conditioning-association
  • renewed-support

STEPS Fitness | 2424 21st Ave. S. Suite #100 | Nashville, TN 37212 | 615.269.8844 p

© 2022 Nashville's Premier Personal Fitness Training Center | Designed by Ponder Consulting ®