Corrective Running Shoes Are Based On A Myth
Usain Bolt Wikimedia Commons New research suggests that ordinary shoes work just fine for runners with under- and over-pronating feet. For decades, running shoes have been manufactured in different styles to affect "pronation": rotational movement of the foot. If you tend to rotate either too far (over-pronate) or not enough (under-pronate) then you need corrective (and often expensive) shoes, so you won't get injured. At least that's what the running commentariat tells you. Turns out, you might be wasting your money. A new study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine has found that ordinary shoes work fine for runners regardless of how they pronate. Researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark gave 927 novice runners with different pronation types the same pair of "neutral"--non-corrective--running shoes. (From the study: "A total of 927 novice runners equivalent to 1,854 feet...") After one year and a combined 100,000-plus miles of running, 252 of...