What's the Verdict on Motion-Control Shoes?

For the past 30 years, shoe manufacturers like Nike and Adidas have been encasing our feet in shoes that are meant to correct deficiencies in our gait. The theory goes that if you overpronate - that is, if your feet roll excessively inward when you strike the ground - then stabilizing your feet will lessen impact forces and help to thwart knee and foot injuries. Alternatively, if you supinate - if your feet do not roll enough - then you need more flexible shoes and lots of cushioning to reduce impact forces.

Initial studies by Benno Nigg of the University of Calgary's Human Performance Lab, who helped shape the original theory of pronation, were promising. These modified running shoes did indeed lessen impact forces. Unfortunately, these shoes also did little to stem the incidence of the major running injuries: plantar fasciitis, runner's knee and achilles tendinopathy. The level of injuries have stayed relatively constant over the years since the introduction of pronation (or motion) controlling shoes.

Last year, a study by researchers at the University of British Columbia in conjunction with the Nike Sports Research Lab, set out to test the pronation theory. Eighty-one women enrolled in a 13-week training program for a half marathon were divided into three groups based on their foot and pronation type (neutral, overpronation or supination). Instead of assigning the proper shoe type for each women based on their foot type, they were, instead, randomly assigned one of three types: neutral, motion-control or stability.

The result? Instead of the feared perfect storm of injuries, only 26 out of the 81, or 32 percent, of the women reported injuries. In fact, there was little correlation between the foot type, shoe type and injury rate. Surprisingly, women who received the correct shoe type for their foot type reported more injuries or discomfort than those with the wrong shoe type. And more than half of those assigned motion-control shoes reported injuries.

So what to make of this? Do we now just select shoes randomly based on our favourite colour or style?

Dr. Benno Nigg suggests that a more valid indicator is comfort. His team performed a study with 206 soldiers who were allowed to choose from six different shoe inserts with the only criteria that they made the decision based on which was most comfortable. There was no correlation between the soldier's foot type and the type of insert they chose but the injury rates decreased significantly.

So instead of buying generic inserts at your running shoe store, having a qualified chiropodist create a comfortable orthotic may do more for preventing running and walking injuries than fancy motion-control devices in athletic shoes.


Carl Tam, Chiropodist
Footcare Place, Toronto

Heel pain, Flat feet, Calluses, Corns, Diabetic feet, Ingrown toenails, Varicose veins, Plantar warts, Arch pain, Knee pain, Fungal nails, Bunions and Athlete's foot.