We are bombarded with shoe ads from companies like Nike, Adidas and Reebok. These ads tell us how much protection the shoes offer. Here is a typical discussion of the Nike Shox shoes, which are said to offer “independent suspension” to protect your feet.

Now imagine that everything we’ve been told might be wrong – the shoes may actually do damage instead of offering protection. That’s what recent research is suggesting:

Running Shoes May Cause Damage to Knees, Hips and Ankles, New Study Suggests

The researchers observed increased joint torques at the hip, knee and ankle with running shoes compared with running barefoot. Disproportionately large increases were observed in the hip internal rotation torque and in the knee flexion and knee varus torques. An average 54% increase in the hip internal rotation torque, a 36% increase in knee flexion torque, and a 38% increase in knee varus torque were measured when running in running shoes compared with barefoot.

These findings confirm that while the typical construction of modern-day running shoes provides good support and protection of the foot itself, one negative effect is the increased stress on each of the 3 lower extremity joints. These increases are likely caused in large part by an elevated heel and increased material under the medial arch, both characteristic of today’s running shoes.

This research would indicate that running barefoot, or as close to barefoot as possible, is the best way to run. The following video talks about Vibram’s barefoot shoes and the idea that running barefoot is better for your joints:

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