Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2023
Abstract
Look online for information on running shoes and you’ll soon see articles about wear patterns on the bottom of your shoes. Usually, these articles promise “secret knowledge” of what each wear pattern means and what horrible injury you’re therefore due. Individual companies often claim that certain wear patterns mean you need specific shoes or orthotics, which, lucky for you, they happen to be selling.
Most of this information is flat-out wrong. There’s simply no compelling evidence linking wear patterns on your running shoes with an increased risk for a given injury. Nor is there a relationship between your wear patterns and what kind of shoe you “should” be running in. Let’s look at what claims are most often made, why they’re almost always wrong, and what—if anything—there is to learn from the wear patterns on your shoes.
Recommended Citation
Klein, Matthew, "Everything You Need to Know About Running Shoe Wear Patterns" (2023). Faculty Publications - College of Physical Therapy. 155.
https://digitalcommons.georgefox.edu/pt_fac/155
Comments
Originally published in Runner's World Magazine. 2023.
https://www.runnersworld.com/