Posts: 1090
Joined: December 22, 2007
Status: offline
Interesting article out of the latest JOSPT. I'd say worth a discussion here!
Aug 30, 2010Injury Reduction Effectiveness of Assigning Running Shoes Based on Plantar Shape in Marine Corps Basic Training
from The American Journal of Sports Medicine recent issues by Knapik, J. J., Trone, D. W., Swedler, D. I., Villasenor, A., Bullock, S. H., Schmied, E., Bockelman, T., Han, P., Jones, B. H. Background: Shoe manufacturers market motion control, stability, and cushioned shoes for plantar shapes defined as low, normal, and high, respectively. This assignment procedure is presumed to reduce injuries by compensating for differences in running mechanics.
Hypothesis: Assigning running shoes based on plantar shape will not reduce injury risk in Marine Corps basic training.
Study Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial; Level of evidence, 1.
Methods: After foot examinations, Marine Corps recruits in an experimental group (E: 408 men, 314 women) were provided motion control, stability, or cushioned shoes for plantar shapes indicative of low, medium, or high arches, respectively. A control group (C: 432 men, 257 women) received a stability shoe regardless of plantar shape. Injuries during the 12 weeks of training were determined from outpatient visits obtained from the Defense Medical Surveillance System. Other known injury risk factors (eg, fitness, smoking, prior physical activity) were obtained from a questionnaire, existing databases, or the training units.
Results: Cox regression indicated little difference in injury risk between the E and C groups among men (hazard ratio [E/C] = 1.01; 95% confidence interval, 0.82-1.24) or women (hazard ratio [E/C] = 0.88; 95% confidence interval, 0.70-1.10).
Conclusion: This prospective study demonstrated that assigning shoes based on the shape of the plantar foot surface had little influence on injuries even after considering other injury risk factors.
_____________________________
Rod Henderson, PT Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist (or Super-Freak) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Movement Science Podcast and Blog
It was very nice to see this article. The difficulty then becomes how do you pick a pair. In the past I have tried some on in the store and jogged around a bit, but it is nothing like actually running a few miles. Then the question becomes are these shoes the most comfortable for me after 5 miles?
Posts: 1090
Joined: December 22, 2007
Status: offline
Comfort is my guide. I also run with the Vibrams but train in Brooks for 90% of my mileage.
_____________________________
Rod Henderson, PT Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist (or Super-Freak) Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist Movement Science Podcast and Blog
Posts: 328
Joined: September 25, 2008
Status: offline
One question with the study; was the population as tested, more prone to injuries vs a normal population due to their reason for training? Mindset, motivation, reasoning...
On a similar note, at the local Fred Meyer there is now a shoe insert kiosk where you can stand on a platform and it will identify what type of 40$ insert is most helpful for you. I'll need to spend an extra minute there, try it out and read what it "helps".
Printable Version
All Forums >> [RehabEdge Forum] >> Sports & Fitness >> Shoewear and Injury - JOSPT 2010 
Shoewear and Injury - JOSPT 2010 - 
New Messages
No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages
Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages
Locked w/o New Messages
Post New Thread