RNS: Fit Feet, June 2009
TIME: 1:46
URL: http://www2.med.umich.edu/prmc/media/newsroom/details.cfm?ID=1158
U-M Health Minute: Today’s top health issues and medical research
U-M expert offers tips to choosing the correct athletic shoes
Suggested lead: Is it the cool style or the vibrant colors that should attract you to a shoe? Or is it the fit, function and structure of a shoe? A University of Michigan Athletic Training Clinical Specialist offers some tips to help us choose the right athletic shoe. Here is Andi McDonnell with more.
It seems like there are as many different types of athletic shoes as there are people to wear them. So how do you know which one is right for you and your activities?
Vahan Agbabian, athletic training clinical specialist at MedSport, the home of the University of Michigan Health System’s sports medicine program tells us . . .
“It’s very important when you’re choosing the correct shoe to understand your foot type. And we like to use a sliding scale, which is basically is your foot more of a flat-footed structure or is it more higher arched, and then underneath that is your foot more flexible or is it more rigid...
Athletic shoes must be flexible or your foot will fight them as it rolls through each step, leading to shin splints. Twist them and they should twist. Bend them and they should bend at the ball of the foot, not in the middle of the arch. Set them down and poke the toe - it should rock as the toe should be slightly off the ground. If it passes these tests, it might be the correct pair.
Agbabian warns that the type of shoe you choose should match your activity level. For example, if someone is trying to find a shoe to play tennis in, it needs to have enough stability to hold up to the demands of tennis -- sprinting to the net, serving and cutting. You wouldn’t want to play tennis in running shoes, Agbabian says, because they don’t provide the stability you need. Running shoes aren’t designed for that kind of stability.
“Probably the one shoe style that allows you the most variability is a cross training shoe. You can run some, you can be on the court, you can go in the gym and work out and train.”
So when should you buy new shoes? Even if shoes feel OK, they may be losing their ability to cushion and support your feet after prolonged use. Agbabian suggests changing running and walking shoes every 500 to 600 miles and court shoes such as basketball shoes after every season played.
Andi McDonnell, U-M Health System News
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