According to the calendar spring is here and with spring comes the annual event of people buying new running shoes.  While there are very good shoes on the market, how they work for you and your body composition can be very challenging to the consumer to know "what is best for me?"  Discussing foot and ankle mechanics and their affects of the rest of the body is far beyond the scope of these columns, but here are certain "keypoints" to look for when buying running shoes.

The most expensive shoe most certainly may not be the best shoe on the market and anyone who's priced running shoes knows that "good shoes aren't cheap."  However, there are aspects that any running shoe should have that should influence your buying rather than just the cost.

Firstly, the heel of the shoe should be stable.  If you grab the back of the shoe it should not twist or slide side to side on the base of the shoe.  If it does, the shoe will not offer good heel control.  Secondly, the forefoot of the shoe should be flexible up and down, but not too much side to side.  Again this offers good stability for up and down motion of the foot but helps to reduce side to side sliding in the shoe.  Thirdly, in standing with the shoes on, you should be able to feel the arches without effort.  They should be snug without the sensation of tipping your foot out, or too low, which forces your arches down.

Fourthly, in general the shoe should be neither too loose nor too narrow as this allows either too much or too little normal foot and andkle mechanics to occur.

There are multiple other factors that do come into play with buying running shoes but these 4 very basic aspects will help to narrow down your choices and remember what is best for you is certainly different than what is best for the person buying shoes next to you.

Yours in health,

Matt