Running barefoot ‘better than wearing trainers’

Soldiers should take whatever opportunity comes their way to run barefoot, as new research has found that trainers could be doing their joints damage.

Scientists from JKM Technologies and the University of Virginia, writing in the PM&R: The Journal of Injury, Function and Rehabilitation, said that trainers protect feet from the impact of running but just send it further up the legs.

That means ankle, knee and hip joints take the strain and the researchers say sports manufacturers need to do what they can to make footwear mimic barefoot as much as possible.

Dr Casey Kerrigan, an author from JKM Technologies, which designs trainers, said that some running shoes are even worse than high heels for the damage they do to joints.

Troops who find running barefoot a little odd may want to invest some of their hard-earned money in a pair of Skechers Shape Ups, which can help build up leg muscles, according to Fitness Footwear.

Posted by Daniel Ohio