Can wearing alternate trainers help to reduce injury when running?
A study followed 264 recreational runners over a 22 week period. They uploaded their physical activity to an online platform where scientists analyzed the data to assess for running related injuries.
The researchers defined a running related injury (RRI) as "a physical pain or complaint located at the lower limbs or lower back region, sustained during or as a result of running practice and impeding planned running activity for at least 1 day."
87 of the recreational runners (about a third of the cohort) reported at least one injury over the 22 weeks.
The researchers concluded that the participants who rotated two or more pairs of shoes in parallel had a protective effect against running related injuries. This might be because there's a slightly different distribution of load with each pair of shoes, therefore changing the stress on the musculoskeletal system.
This is a fairly cheap way of trying to reduce your risk of an injury. It can take up to 48hours for the foam in the training shoes to decompress. EVA foam that is commonly used in running shoes is known to compress over time and shorten the life of the shoe. We know there are high loads when running so it’s imperative the shoe has time to “recover.” If we think about when we have a gait analysis we are dealing with tiny movements often measured in mm so a compressed sole could have an effect on your foot posture as well as the shock absorbing ability of the shoe.
If you are going to start to rotate shoes then I would advise trying to stick to the same model that works for you. This will allow continuity for your foot and running style especially if you’re training for something like a marathon, triathlon or Ironman.
If you do decide to choose different shoes for different runs then I would advise using the same principles as you would with your training. You’d integrate a new training technique slowly into your current regime and that should be the same with your training shoes.
Obviously there are more productive ways to manage running injuries such as monitoring training load, recovery and some strength training. However, if your budget stretches to I would advise investing in an extra pair of shoes. It’s about marginal gains and sometimes these small changes can go a long way to creating a more productive training environment.
If you need help with a running injury please get in touch:
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Reference:
Malisoux L, Ramesh J, Mann R, Seil R, Urhausen A, Theisen D. Can parallel use of different running shoes decrease running-related injury risk? Scand J Med Sci Sports. 2015 Feb;25(1):110-5. doi: 10.1111/sms.12154. Epub 2013 Nov 28. PMID: 24286345.
