Befuddled by buyinh running shoes for the first time?
Zero-drop? Extra Stability? Motion control?
What shoes will ward off injuries?
A new study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine says run-of-the-mill running shoes
are probably just fine.
Researchers tracked 900 inactive but healthy adults who took up running.
About a third had at least one foot that pronated - rolled inward when running - or
supinated - rolled outward.
These conditions are often cited as important factors in choosing shoes.
But for the study, all participants wore the same "neutral" running shoes, not meant to
correct for any stride issues.
And after these newbies hit the road regularly for a year, the results were, well,
striking.
With more than 310 miles logged each, about three quarters of all runners remained injury
free.
There was no significant difference in injury rate for most of the foot-strike types.
In fact, people whose feet pronated were actually less likely to have had an injury
than those who had normal or supinated foot strikes.
So, lace up some basix foot wear. And save your sweat for the run.