Lastly got that new pair of running shoes? Well, before you get down to taking them on the jogging track, here is a piece of information-running shoes are liable to damage knees, hips and ankles.In a study, researchers compare the effects on knee, hip and ankle joint motions of running barefoot versus running in modern running shoes.

They concluded that running shoes exerted added stress on these joints compared to running barefoot or walking in high-heeled shoes.

68 healthy young adult runners (37 women), who run in typical, currently available running shoes, were selected from the general population. No one had any history of musculoskeletal injury and each ran as a minimum of 15 miles per week.

All runners were providing with a running shoe, selected for its neutral classification and design characteristics typical of most running footwear. They experiential each subject running barefoot and with shoes using a treadmill and a motion analysis system.

The researchers' experiential increased joint torques at the hip, knee and ankle with running shoes compared with running barefoot.

Disproportionately large increases were experiential in the hip internal rotation torque and in the knee flexion and knee versus torques.

An average 54 pct raise in the hip internal rotation torque, a 36 pct increase in knee flexion torque, also a 38 pct increase in knee varus torque were measured when running in shoes compare with barefoot.

The findings confirmed that as the typical construction of modern-day running shoes provides good support and protection of the foot itself, one negative effect is the increased pressure on each of the 3 lower extremity joints.

These increases are likely caused in large part by an elevated heel and increased material in the medial arch, both characteristic of today's running shoes.

"Remarkably, the effect of running shoes on knee joint torques during running (36pc to 38pc increase) that the authors observed here is even greater than the effect that was reported earlier of high-heeled shoes during walking (20pc to 26pc increase). Considering that lower extremity joint loading is of a significantly greater magnitude in running than is experienced during walking, the current findings indeed represent substantial biomechanical changes," added lead author D. Casey Kerrigan, JKM Technologies LLC, Charlottesville, VA, and co-investigators.

D. Casey Kerrigan concluded: "Reducing joint torques with footwear completely to that of barefoot running, while providing meaningful footwear functions, especially compliance, should be the goal of new footwear designs."

Labels: Hips, Running Shoes Can Damage Your Knees