Each of us has only one body. These bodies are capable of insane feats. There is no lack of extreme survival stories where people triumph despite severe cold, long periods of starvation, or illnesses or injuries that easily could’ve resulted in death. Aron Ralston, a climber from Colorado, amputated his own arm with a cheap pocketknife to ensure his own survival (link to “Aron Ralston And The Harrowing True Story Of ‘127 Hours’,” by Katie Serena). In a few incidences, people have been known to lift 3,000-pound cars to save others while the world record for deadlifting stands at only 1,155 pounds (this BBC Future article titled “How it’s possible for an ordinary person to lift a car,” by Adam Hadhazy is a very interesting read). Don’t forget about self-imposed races and endurance events, of which athletes are continuously defying what many people thought possible by running astounding 24-hour and hundred-mile runs, for example. The human body is surprisingly powerful and resilient.
Still, the body is surprisingly fragile when it comes to habitual and repetitive activities, and a single stimulus such as running or walking, when exponentially magnified over many years, can frustratingly expose a body’s particular weaknesses if the proper precautions are not taken. Determining what the most important precautions are for you as an individual can be very difficult if you don’t have an extensive background in human physiology, biomechanics, and health (and there’s still no guarantee that you’re doing the most ideal things to prolong your body’s longevity for the activities you want to be able to do for as long as possible). Although much of a person’s health and preventative needs are subjective based on your particular health history, genetics, activities, and physiology, there are fortunately many scientifically tested and proven precautions and solutions that are pretty universalizable that can be utilized before things need to come down to pure chance and factors beyond your control. In terms of running and walking, this is where a running specialty store can come into play.
An accurate shoe fitting isn’t just about finding a cute and comfortable shoe; for many, it is about finding a vital tool to allow our bodies to do our favorite activities for longer. Although prevention is the best medicine, a year and a half of working with all types of walkers and runners has showed me that most people don’t recognize sources of biomechanical imbalance and potential sources of injury until the injury or pain has developed unhealthily far. Many athletes and even casual walkers seem to believe too strongly that pain is just a part of being human, and that by choosing to be active, they have no choice but to endure through joint pain, muscle strains, and physical problems. “No pain, no gain!”, right? Wrong. The ability to carefully distinguish between a counterproductive pain and the pain that is a productive training stimulus is surprisingly hard to come by. Running or walking through an arthritic, shooting pain in your knee, for example, is counterproductive to your longevity in these activities, whereas a relatively evenly-spread muscle fatigue in your major muscle groups and the eventual difficulty breathing at the end of challenging hard workout or a longer walk is probably the kind of pain that is actually productive to push through and embrace.
A majority of customers that we work with in our running specialty store are either visiting us because they developed some kind of pain/strain that is preventing their ability to do their favorite fitness activities, or they are referred by their doctor to get fitted for a shoe that has the right combination of support, cushion, and structure that will work with their biomechanics instead of magnifying the weakest parts of their biomechanical chain. It is unfortunate to see passionate high school students, outdoor enthusiasts, and social walkers coming into the store only once they develop debilitating pains and injuries. Many seek our help after undergoing surgeries that leave them weaker and dealing with more problems than they should have if they had sought out proper shoes, training techniques, and preventative exercises from professionals and appropriate sources ahead of time. Much of the time, a huge part of the solution is as simple as understanding the importance of support in a running shoe.
Understanding pronation and other variables of foot shape, arch height, leg structure, etc. is not an exact science. It is helpful to visit a running store where a specialist can learn about your history of injuries, give you a real gait analysis by watching you run, and then consider all of these variables through the filter of their experience with tons of previous customers, shoes, and the assistance of scientific knowledge. The intuition and experience of a shoe guru who can watch your stride in multiple pairs of shoes can be invaluable, and they can have a conversation with you while you simultaneously gauge the comfort of these shoes. This experience is very unique and important since the majority of the marketing of shoes online and in most stores is NOT concerned with the subjective needs of the customer but is instead concerned only with selling their product in order to make money. And yes, the shoes from a running specialty store can be expensive for some people (most standard cushion shoes are around $130, and higher cushion shoes can hover around $160), but I strongly believe that this is a small price to pay for the many miles of activity you’ll get from them (comfortable miles where you can be confident that you are minimizing your potential for injury due to your shoes).
Another factor that any consumer actually concerned about their health and well-being should consider is the importance of functionality over aesthetics. Hoka is a higher cushioned, lower-drop brand of shoe that has literally been a miraculous discovery for some of my customers who have suffered from debilitating joint pain. While it is not a shoe for everyone (as no single model or brand of shoe is ever good for everyone), a surprising amount of customers who were very reluctant to try these shoes (because of aesthetics) have found that they are able to run/walk pain-free in them after years of being unable to do their favorite activities. I am consistently shocked by injured customers’ extreme and disproportionate “need” for a very specific color scheme or “look” that usually isn’t even manufactured in the shoe that is working the best for them. As an employee who is trained to help customers avoid injury and find a shoe that is comfortable and functional, it is difficult for me to embrace customers’ fear of some kind of social rejection or not fitting in when it is at the direct cost of taking care of their bodies, but in the end, the success of retail is often based on giving customers what they want (or what they think they want).
Hoka is a great example of this phenomenon because, as most customers who try them on tell me, it “looks like an orthopedic shoe,” even though probably 90% of customers who say that also admit that they are the most comfortable, if they’re even willing to try them on after seeing them. While I respect customers’ anxieties and preferences about appearance, I believe that much of the profound concern for aesthetics is blown out of proportion, and that wearing the Hoka Arahi instead of the admittedly fun tropical print of the Brooks Adrenaline is not going to be the singular factor that pushes you over the edge of looking young to looking like an old person in an orthopedic shoe.
Aside from the present-day fashion trends that actually glorify some of these new styles of shoe that people are afraid of because of certain connotations, it is highly unlikely that any of your workout partners will significantly judge you in a negative way just because you chose a shoe that would prevent your body from breaking down quickly over a fashion stereotype. If that really is the case, maybe it’s time to surround yourself with people who care about you taking care of yourself instead of people who criticize you for not conforming to hegemonic fashion preferences, or it’s time to call them on their shit and stick to your guns if your goal is injury prevention or rehabilitation and you are in a shoe that is helping you. I completely understand and do not want to negate the desire for a shoe aesthetic that makes the wearer feel happiest, especially in a shoe that is going to be used for everyday purposes, but the fact that most shoes come in a variety of styles should render their appearance second to functionality if the customer values their physical well-being and especially if their main goal is to address a glaring biomechanical issue. If you already know what works for you and you aren’t dealing with any pain related to your shoes, by all means choose your shoe according to your desired aesthetic.
Taking care of your body by minimizing your risk for physical pain and biomechanical problems is relatively easy if you are able to seek out the appropriate resources and reflect on your own needs and values regarding function and aesthetics. The best part about coming into a running specialty store with employees who genuinely care about your well-being is that you can try on multiple pairs of shoes that minimize excessive stress in your joints based on a gait analysis, you can actually compare them and feel the difference for yourself, and you can ask about anything you want to know. Once you find a pair of shoes that is really offering what you need, then go crazy looking for a color that makes you look twenty years younger.
Enjoy your outdoor activities this fall and keep taking care of your body! Prevention is the best medicine. While things happen that are beyond our control, we are able to take many preventative matters into our own hands to make things easier for us further down the road.
-Josh
Sources:
-Katie Serena, “Aron Ralston And The Harrowing True Story Of ‘127 Hours’.” All That’s Interesting, 6/10/2019. Accessed 7/3/2020.
-Adam Hadhazy, “How it’s possible for an ordinary person to lift a car.” BBC Future, 5/1/2016. Accessed 7/3/2020.