Running Shoes Cushion Just One Thing: Manufacturer Profits
By Michael Frank, Adventure Journal on December 6th, 2011
The other shoe has dropped on motion-control and cushioning running shoes, and researchers at the University of Calgary’s Human Performance Lab as well as at the University of British Columbia have found that there’s little evidence that motion control shoes for heavy pronators or heavily cushioned shoes are doing anything to prevent injury. Chris McDougall, author of the 2009 bestseller Born to Run that advocates barefoot running, greeted this latest research with a blog post entitled: “Breaking news from Nike: We’ve been talking a lot of crap, and selling it.” But researchers caution that the lack of proof that one kind of shoe prevents injury doesn’t mean that another kind of shoe (or running barefoot) will be any more palliative.
Don’t spend all your money on those shoes with heavy cushions, you need a pair of $150 minimalist running shoes, engineered by a team of elite people who know more than anyone else about making a truly minimalist shoe!
As a pronator, orthodics have been the key to preventing injury, more so than the shoe.