High-tech athletic shoes aren't always the best choice

Here's a fitness footnote to knock your running socks off: Athletic shoes with lots of cushioning and support — also known as The Expensive Kind — are considered one of the leading causes of running injuries.

"One of the major problems is that fitness shoes provide too much support," says Dr. Benno Nigg, professor of biomechanics at the University of Calgary, who has spent years researching the cause of joint stiffness and running pain.

"This means that the muscles don't have to work and may slowly deteriorate."

Holy Nike! Highly cushioned athletic shoes — in hot colors, with added structure and lots of support — do more harm than good? Can you run that by me one more time?

"Expensive athletic shoes are deceptively advertised to safeguard well through 'cushioning impact' yet account for 123 percent greater injury frequency than the cheapest ones," according to a classic study by Robbins and Waked, first published in 1997 in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

That study resurfaced recently as part of an overall report on running injuries by Alexandra Williams in a 2010 IDEA Fitness Journal, an article with lots of valuable information for all of us who are foolishly paying through the nose to protect our feet when less expensive shoes actually are the smarter choice. Some more highlights:

The reason that shoes with almost no padding, thin soles and little arch construction are recommended is that they activate the foot to do what it needs to do, making it stronger, more flexible, less vulnerable to stiffness and pain. Working out in shoes that are overly "protective" immobilizes the foot and weakens it over time.

There's a growing trend toward running without shoes, or in minimalist shoes that mimic barefoot running called barefoot "slip-ons." Think thick rubber glove for your foot. Vibram FiveFingers, Terra Plana Vivo Barefoot, Nike Huaraches and Nike Free are all variations on the theme of less is more.

(I am happy to disclose I switched to structure-free Nike Frees several years ago, and my race-walking feet have never been perkier. These minimalist shoes do take some getting use to, so if you decide to try a pair, ease into them gradually.)