You could run better without sneakers
Source: Agencies |
January 29, 2010, Friday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AMERICAN biologist and runner Daniel Lieberman had a simple question: "How did people run without shoes?"
The answer he got is: Much better.
At least running barefoot seems better for the feet, producing far less impact stress compared to feet shod in fancy, expensive running shoes, according to a study by the Harvard biologist in the latest issue of the journal Nature. The study concludes that people seem to be born to run ¨? barefoot.
The research was funded in part by a company that makes minimalist running shoes that try to mimic barefoot running. But Lieberman, who disclosed the grant, said the company had no say in the design of the study and didn't influence the outcome.
People who grew up running barefoot ¨? such as boys in Kenya's Rift Valley province, which is known for endurance running champs ¨? tend to land mostly on the front or middle of the foot when they touch ground. And when these runners do use shoes, they continue to run in that way.
People who have always worn cushioned running shoes usually hit the ground heel first.
The difference in the way the foot strikes the ground is important. Lieberman's study examined the physical stresses on feet with different types of running and found that people with running shoes strike the ground with the mass of the entire leg, nearly 7 percent of the body. That is more than three times the weight of impact for barefoot running.
"It's really about how you hit the ground," said Lieberman, who specializes in human evolutionary biology. "When you hit the ground, some of your body comes to a dead stop."
For runners in cushioned shoes, "it is literally like someone hitting you on the heel with a hammer," Lieberman said. But, he said that "the way in which barefoot runners run is more or less collision free."
But runners should be cautious about ditching their shoes or using new ones that mimic barefoot running, Lieberman said. If you change the way you run quickly "you have a high probability of injuring yourself," he said. In general, changes either in running shoes or distance should be no more than 10 percent a week, he said.
The study does not look at injuries from running and does not conclude that shod runners are injured more often. That specific research should be looked at next, Lieberman said.
Lieberman has looked at the evolution of long-distance running; 2 million years ago our pre-human ancestors used that approach to wear out prey during prolonged hunts. He found that the 1970s invention of the modern running shoe changed our strides. And it was not necessarily for the best.
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