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Beware of trendy barefoot running shoes – you could end up with broken bones in your foot
Advocates of barefoot running claim it can reduce injuries and back pain'Minimalist' shoes such as these now account for 15% of salesBut experts say many people suffer injuries by overdoing it early on
Runners should make transition from regular trainers more slowly, they say
By
Anna Hart
PUBLISHED:
17:13 GMT, 7 March 2013
|
UPDATED:
17:15 GMT, 7 March 2013
Experts have warned that 'barefoot' five-finger running shoes (pictured) can easily cause injuries
It has become one of the latest running crazes, said to reduce the risk of injuries and back pain.
But experts have warned that the growing number of runners using 'barefoot' five-finger running shoes could very easily end up injured.
Researchers at Brigham Young University in the U.S found that runners who make the switch from normal trainers to barefoot shoes too quickly suffered an increased risk of injury to bones in the foot, including possible stress fractures.
Women were particularly at risk of injuries, they found.
The researchers say the findings are particularly concerning given that minimalist shoes such as these now make up 15 per cent of the running shoe market.
Advocates of barefoot running claim that footwear constricts our feet and inhibits natural movement, leaving us prone to injuries, pain and postural problems.
While some runners completely lose the shoes, others opt for minimal coverage.
Barefoot running shoes are act like a glove for the feet and are designed to protect fthem from glass and other hazards on the ground.
While the shoes themselves may not be harmful, it is the transition from them to regular trainers that is often the problem.
'Transitioning to minimalist shoes is definitely stressful to the bones,' said Sarah Ridge, lead author and assistant professor of exercise science at BYU. 'You have to be careful in how you transition and most people don’t think about that; they just want to put the shoes on and go.'
The research, published in the journal
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, studied 36 experienced
runners over a 10-week period.
Each runner first underwent an MRI
scan on their feet prior to the study period. Half of the runners were
then asked to gradually transition into five-finger minimalist shoes
while the other half continued to run in traditional running shoes.
Subjects in the experimental group
followed the suggested guidelines. They did one short (1-2 mile) run in
the minimalist shoes the first week, and added an additional short run
each week so that they ran at least three miles in the new shoes by week
three.
They were then told to add mileage in
the minimal shoes as they felt comfortable, with the goal of replacing
one short run per week in traditional shoes with the new shoes.
At
the end of the 10-week period, MRIs were again conducted. The MRIs
revealed that those who had done more running in the minimalist shoes
suffered a greater number of injuries and inflammation.
Advocates of barefoot running claim that footwear constricts our feet and inhibits natural movement, leaving us prone to injuries, pain and postural problems.
'Whenever a bone is impacted by running (or some other repetitive action), it goes through a normal remodeling process to get stronger,' said Dr Ridge said.
'Injury occurs when the impact is coming too quickly or too powerfully, and the bone doesn’t have a chance to properly remodel before impact reoccurs.'
But she added that minimalist shoes aren't necessarily bad.
Rather, to minimize the risk of injuries, runners should transition over a period of more than 10 weeks and while running fewer miles than normal.
'People need to remember they’ve grown up their whole life wearing a certain type of running shoes and they need to give their muscles and bones time to make the change,” Johnson said. “If you want to wear minimalist shoes, make sure you transition slowly.”
Last year researchers warned that barefoot running shoes have led to a surge in injuries from pulled calf muscles to Achilles tendinitis, with some patients laid up for several months.
Foot specialists said many injuries resulted from switching from trainers to barefoot too quickly.
Shod runners tend to have a longer stride and land on their heel compared with barefoot runners, who are more likely to have a shorter stride and land on the midfoot or forefoot.
Injuries can occur when people put too much pressure on their calf and foot muscles, or don't shorten their stride and end up landing on their heel with no padding.