Maximalist Shoes – Yes, No?

I remember when the minimalist shoe thing started up. In a desperate attempt to overcome injuries, runners swopped out their running shoes for 5 fingered toe shoes and Jesus running sandals. A local physio started to sell some of these really flat shoes and even had a tattoo of their logo inked on her shoulder. Only problem is that they tended to cause more injuries than they solved. And so, people gradually went back to their more traditional running shoes and the storm passed.

However, whenever a pendulum swings one way, it always has to swing the opposite way, and so we entered into the era of maximalist shoes. Thick, chunky and soft, often with more than 2.5 times the cushioning than standard shoes. They too promised to cure all running injuries, except…

Well, I see lots of injuries caused in part by maximalist shoes. Here are some of the reasons why.

1. Shock Levels.

   Imagine you are running bare foot. The ultimate way to get high levels of shock through your system. A barefoot runner will always be aware of just how hard the surface is underfoot. And so the runner will naturally adapt. They will try and land more lightly and with more relaxed muscles and slightly bent joints. This is how the human body deals with the potential of a hard landing. Research has shown that the softer the shoe, the more you tend to land with a stiffer leg and so a lot more shock actually goes through the leg. Soft shoes = high levels of GRF or Ground Reaction Forces. That is exactly what the maxi shoe designers were trying to avoid. Now let’s take a look at your tibia or shin bone: from the famous anatomy song that we learned as kids, you will remember that this is the bone connected to the, “Leg bone”. A group of researchers decided to look at this bone in 2016.(I know, it’s a long time to look at a bone). They tested runners in Nike Pegasus and Hoka One One Stinsons shoes. If I had a say in the experiment, which I didn’t, I would have asked them to test a slightly firmer shoe than the Nike. It was found that the tibia went through significantly more stress in the Hoka shoes.

2. Patellofemoral (knee joint) kinetics.

   Consensus here is that strain through the knee is increased as one gets into a more cushioned, maximalist shoe and reduced as one goes into a firmer standard or even minimalist shoe. I personally believe that older runners need to always opt for firmer shoes. By that, I don’t mean anti pronators necessarily. I literally mean, a firmer feel shoe. If you are bouncing around in it like a you’re on a cloud, the chances are that the shoe wont necessarily work for you.

3. My biggest beef with the shoes is the lack of flex in the shoe.

   The shoes are not only thicker, but they tend not to flex well over the high flex zone. The highest flex area of a shoe is by the ball of your foot. If you’ve got a pair of leather shoes on, just look at how wrinkled the leather is over that area. The bodies ability to roll over the ball of the foot and metatarsal area is an unbelievable achievement. It’s engineering at its best.
   
   To rob the foot of the ability to flex in this area is not the greatest idea. I have seen runners on my treadmill display far higher oscillations when in maximalist shoes. In other words, their bodies are driven higher into the air while running in less flexible shoes than when running in more flexible shoes. The higher your head bounces the slower you go. Remember, we are trying to move you forward as quickly as possible, versus up and down.

   Here are two articles on the subject that you might find helpful.

   Running in highly cushioned shoes increases leg stiffness and amplifies impact loading
   Maximalist shoes may cause more injuries

I realise that this is a highly controversial topic. You can also give us a call and make a booking so that we can test you on the treadmill and put you into the correct running shoe. This is how to buy shoes from SBR Sport.

Regards,

Mike Roscoe.