Running is one of the most injury prone sports. Why is that? If you have running injuries, then read on!

The body has 206 bones, and 13% of them are in the foot. The foot is a very intricate and delicate construction with 26 bones, 30 joints and more than 100 muscles, tendons and ligaments, all of which work together to provide support, balance and mobility. Like all complicated constructs, the foot must be taken care of in a proper way.

One of the major reasons that cause foot problems, are the shoes. It turns out that the more expensive running shoes you use, the more running injuries you get. One study showed that if your running shoes costs more than $100, the risk of injuries increased 120%. Why is that?

Expensive running shoes have a better cushion for your heels, and that is the problem. If you have better cushion, you tend to land on your heels. And that sends a shock wave through your legs, which they are not adapted for.

When you run barefoot you never land on your heels, because that shock wave would hurt you, and maybe even make you bite off your tongue. When you run barefoot you tend to land on your toes or your middle foot. And that is how the feet are designed to be used when running. Always land on your toes or your middle foot. If you land on your toes, it has the added benefit of giving you nice looking calves too. 🙂

So the quick fix to mitigate your running injuries is simple. Mimic running barefoot running when using running shoes, i.e. never land on your heels. Instead always land on your toes or middlefoot.

The correct fix is to ditch your expensive running shoes and instead run barefoot. Or, get running shoes without a cushion that mimics barefoot running. Myself use Vibram Five Finger Shoes #ad that I am very happy with for indoor sports. I bought them 9 years ago, and should probably buy a new pair, but they are still nice to wear so I will keep them a few years more.

On a side note, I always get a pain in my left knee when I run. It turned out that my left leg is shorter than the right leg, and therefore it caused my running pain as I land asymmetrically. But the left leg is actually not shorter, I found out that my foot valve on the left foot does not function properly, I have a hollow foot which means my arch of the foot has collapsed, so my foot is flat along the ground. I discovered this by accident. If I dip my feet in flour/water/etc and walk around, the right foot leave two marks: one from the heel and one from the forefoot. However, my left foot looks different. There is only one big mark, not two. Closer investigation shows that the left foot has no supporting arch. Therefore my hip is tilted, and therefore I land heavier on my left leg and therefore I always get pain in the left knee when I run. Running on my toes helps to mitigate this problem because my hip does not make heavy contact with the ground, via my legs.

So if you always get a pain in the same leg, when running, you should check whether your legs have different length. If they have, then dig around why.

Nowadays, I usually don’t run because of leg pain. Therefore, I do cardio exercise by walking a couple of km. The aim is to become sweaty and increase the heart rate, so I normally use 45 minutes to walk 5 km. Often I use the Cross Trainer at the gym, because the feet never leave the pedal I never experience a shock wave. So to do cardio without running, I take fast walks, or use the Cross Trainer at the gym. Swimming is also good.

Some of this information is from the book “Born To Run” by Christopher McDougall #ad. If you want more information on the above material to dig deeper, I recommend you read the book, it really is great!