People running in high performance shoes put more torque on their knees than people running bare foot.

As something of a gym rat, I take my sneakers pretty seriously.  They have to be comfortable, they have to look cool, but more than anything else, they have to relieve stress.

Let’s face it:  When we exercise, we’re putting a lot of stress on our bones, joints and muscles.  Of course, our muscles and joints become stronger after proper rest (one of the many reasons why rest is crucial to every exercise regimen) but the activity itself—depending on the intensity—is no walk in the park for our bodies (unless it is, in fact, a walk in the park).

Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to purchase far more good sneakers than bad ones.  But the bad ones I’ve purchased have been REAL bad.  One pair was so bad that my knees actually started to hurt whenever I ran or used an elliptical after a few months of wearing them.  At the time, I thought it was a mild case of tendonitis.  But I knew it was the shoes when I ditched those for a new pair.

With all the advances in sneaker technology, you’d think this wouldn’t be much of a problem, as sneakers surely are more packed with padding and support than they used to be.  But a new study says that some of these sneakers are causing more pain than pleasure.

A study published in the December 2009 issue of the Journal of American Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation found that some of the premiere sneakers on the market today put more torque on the knees than running barefoot or walking with high heels!

The study used several different indicators to determine how much of an impact runners were putting on their joints.  For example, electronic markers were placed on their knees so the researchers could actually see and measure what was happening as they were running (this, of course, required some highly sophisticated technology).

In addition to watching the participants run in a traditional setting, they also observed them running on what the researchers call a “glorified bathroom scale” in their bare feet.  This also measured the amount of torque that was placed on the knees and joints.

Surprisingly, they found that people running with shoes—the very shoes that are supposed to minimize torque and resistance—actually brought on more torque than running bare foot.  For example, in the part of the knee that often become arthritic in people with osteoarthritis, there was about 40 percent more torque among those running in sneakers than those running bare foot.

So, does this mean that you should kick off your sneaks and bare it all?  Not necessarily.

“I think people should run in what they feel most comfortable running in,” said the study’s lead researcher to LiveScience.  “Whether that’s in a pair of running shoes or in a minimum kind of running shoe, that’s fine.”

In other words, don’t get snookered into believing that if your shoe isn’t at least $150, you shouldn’t buy it.  Pay attention to how the shoe feels on your foot and mimic as best you can the way in which you run right there in the store.

For this reason, it’s best to shop at a store that has space for you to run in place or ideally around the store itself.  Stores that allow this usually employ specialists that can evaluate your gait and whether you over-pronate when you run.

Source:
msnbc.msn.com

Could the advice to "stay off that knee" for knee pain be hurting more than helping? Researchers think so.

Exercise carries a risk of injury.  No two ways about it.  And if you injure yourself in, say, the knee area—one of the more common injuries for runners and joggers alike—the typical advice is to stay off the knee and stay out of the gym.  After all, if you want something to heal, you have to give it the time to rest, right?

But a new study in the British Medical Journal is turning this conventional wisdom on its head, with a finding that certainly seems counterintuitive.  According to their results, a better way to solve knee pain is not by resting but by exercising.

The researchers discovered this somewhat surprising finding after recruiting 131 people with a condition called Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome, or PFPS.  PFPS is actually a fairly common knee problem that is characterized by constant pain around the knee cap and is something runners often complain of (that’s probably the reason why PFPS is also known as Runner’s Knee).

Sixty-five of the participants were given detailed information on how to exercise properly and in ways that would cause as little pain as possible in the course of their exercise regimen.  The remaining 66 did some exercises, but for the most part, they rested their knee and performed very few exercises.

To gauge whether or not their knee pain improved, the participants were supplied with a series of questions that enabled them to accurately determine how much (or how little) the exercise or rest was affecting their knee health.  They took these assessments at the start of the study, at the three-month mark and at the study’s conclusion, or after one year.

While there wasn’t universal improvement with one treatment over the other, exercising was deemed a better treatment because, well, more people reported improvements compared to prolonged periods of rest.  For instance, at the three-month mark, 42 percent of the exercisers reported reduced pain compared to the 35 percent that felt better after resting.  And at the 12-month mark, an overwhelming majority of the exercisers reported reduced pain (62 percent) versus the bear majority that felt better after resting (51 percent).

Now it goes without saying—but I’ll say it anyway—that if your knee pain is such that you can’t bear standing without writhing in agony, then by all means DON’T EXERCISE.  But if your pain is similar to the pain felt by people with Runner’s Knee (e.g., pain in the knee cap after sitting for prolonged periods of time, pain when running downhill or walking down stairways), then light amounts of exercise may be just what the doctor ordered.

As always, you should consult a physical therapist about what exercises would be best for you, but I’m willing to bet that he or she will advise you do some stretching and strengthening exercises.  Because Runner’s Knee is often a function of weak quadriceps muscles, some of the exercise he or she will likely recommend include isometrics, straight leg lifts, as well has hip adductor and abductor exercises.

He or she may also suggest you purchase a different kind of shoe; people with Runner’s Knee often overpronate when they run and certain shoes can help to minimize that tendency.

Sources:
drpribut.com
familydoctor.org
sciencedaily.com
medicalnewstoday.com