Is your prescription of distance running shoes evidence-based?
Six articles on PainSci cite Richards 2009: (1) The Complete Guide to IT Band Syndrome (2) The Complete Guide to Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (3) Complete Guide to Plantar Fasciitis (4) The Complete Guide to Shin Splints (5) Are Orthotics Worth It? (6) Does barefoot running prevent injuries?
PainSci notes on Richards 2009:
Are current prescriptions of distance running shoes featuring elevated cushioned heels and pronation control systems evidence-based? The authors did a thorough scientific literature search for relevant papers and found nothing whatsoever to review. Unlike so many reviews that come to tepid conclusions based on limited evidence, this one found literally no evidence at all. Thus, “The prescription of this shoe type to distance runners is not evidence-based.” (As of 2009. The situation is hardly any better in 2017.)
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
OBJECTIVES: To determine whether the current practice of prescribing distance running shoes featuring elevated cushioned heels and pronation control systems tailored to the individual's foot type is evidence-based.
DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE (1950-May 2007), CINAHL (1982-May 2007), EMBASE (1980-May 2007), PsychInfo (1806-May 2007), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (2(nd) Quarter 2007), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled trials (2(nd) Quarter 2007), SPORTSDiscus (1985-May 2007) and AMED (1985-May 2007).
REVIEW METHODS: English language articles were identified via keyword and medical subject headings (MeSH) searches of the above electronic databases. With these searches and the subsequent review process, controlled trials or systematic reviews were sought in which the study population included adult recreational or competitive distance runners, the exposure was distance running, the intervention evaluated was a running shoe with an elevated cushioned heel and pronation control systems individualised to the wearer's foot type, and the outcome measures included either running injury rates, distance running performance, osteoarthritis risk, physical activity levels, or overall health and wellbeing. The quality of these studies and their findings were then evaluated.
RESULTS: No original research that met the study criteria was identified either directly or via the findings of the six systematic reviews identified.
CONCLUSION: The prescription of this shoe type to distance runners is not evidence-based.
related content
- “Injury risk in runners using standard or motion control shoes: a randomised controlled trial with participant and assessor blinding,” Laurent Malisoux, Nicolas Chambon, Nicolas Delattre, Nils Gueguen, Axel Urhausen, and Daniel Theisen, British Journal of Sports Medicine, 2016.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
- Relationships Between Sleep Quality and Pain-Related Factors for People with Chronic Low Back Pain: Tests of Reciprocal and Time of Day Effects. Gerhart 2017 Ann Behav Med.
- Modulation in the elastic properties of gastrocnemius muscle heads in individuals with plantar fasciitis and its relationship with pain. Zhou 2020 Sci Rep.
- Association Between Plantar Fasciitis and Isolated Gastrocnemius Tightness. Nakale 2018 Foot Ankle Int.
- No Added Benefit of Combining Dry Needling With Guideline-Based Physical Therapy When Managing Chronic Neck Pain: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Stieven 2020 J Orthop Sports Phys Ther.
- Effectiveness of customised foot orthoses for Achilles tendinopathy: a randomised controlled trial. Munteanu 2015 Br J Sports Med.