The Science of Running
We were made for running, but unfortunately, things have changed in time. We have evolved, and as a result we have started to use more and more technological things.
However, technology does not always mean progress, as there are cases when technology interferes with a natural thing. Running is one of those natural things which have been affected by the evolution of technology. We no longer run in the way in which we used to in the past, and the reason for that are the shoes. When we run barefoot, the toe usually touches the ground first, but when we use the shoes, the heels touch the ground first. The difference might not sound important or impressive enough, but it is the difference between being injured and having an injury-free running experience. The running shoes were developed in the 1960, and ever since their introduction on the market, people started to use them excessively. They promised a new experience, a life without injuries. They contained a soft heel, and then they had air cushions, then shock absorbents, and so on. Prior to the appearance of these shoes, people either used to run barefooted, or they used to use different types of shoes.
There have been lots of opinions and conceptions about the differences between running barefooted, and using shoes. Some said that running with shoes is a bad thing for the health because it can cause an impact on various regions from the body, thus damaging them. For example, the lower back or the knees, might have to suffer because of it. Some have said that running barefooted could cause damage to the legs as well, as one needs to have muscles which are very developed in order to be able to run in this manner. When you run using shoes, the “rear-foot strike” takes place, and that type of shock is very harsh on the body. This type of shock takes place over a very short period of time and the impact is very large. Daniel E. Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, said that landing on the heels first, is like being hit with a hammer on the heel with a weight three times the body weight. It is no wonder that there are lots of people who suffer from back or knee injuries. Of course, the modern shoes have air cushions and other technologies on the heels which have the task of reducing the shock caused by running.
There are mixed opinions about these running shoes as well. Some say that they reduce the strain on the body, whereas others say that they actually cause bigger injuries to the body. Some have said that running in these type of shoes will cause lots of strain on the joints, and that the pressure is similar to the one caused by walking for a very long period of time on high heels. In order to find out more about the proper way of running, and about the impact of this activity, the researchers have analyzed the running styles of five different groups of runners. There were athletes from the United States who wear running shoes on a constant basis; athletes from the Rift Valley Province in Kenya who used to run barefoot, but who now use modern running shoes; U.S. runners who used to wear shoes, but who now go barefoot; and runners from Kenya who either always wear shoes or have never worn shoes. The researchers have discovered that the ones who are used to running with shoes, always touch the ground with the heels first, even when they run barefoot. The ones who run barefoot touch the ground with the toes first, whereas the ones who switched from running with shoes to running barefoot, started to adapt to the situation, landing less and less on their heels first.
The researchers believe that there is a reason why these runners land on their toes first, and that is to avoid the brutal impact caused by landing on the heel. They do not feel the same impact when they land on the toes, which they would feel if they would land on the heel. It seems that more and more people are starting to adopt this running style, mainly because it has received lots of praise in the media. It has been discovered that the running shoes are unable to prevent one from sustaining injuries, but in the same time, they do not cause injuries. It seems that there are lots of mixed opinions about the shoes, and about the proper way of running. It has been stated for a very long time that the shoes are not the ones which cause the injury, and that the fact that we touch the ground with the heels first is what causes the damage. The problem is that this is the only way to run if we wear shoes, as we are unable to run in a manner similar to the barefoot running while wearing a certain type of shoe. There are certain type of shoes which allow you to run in a barefooted manner. They are similar to the gloves, in the sense that each toe has an allocated slot. You can use them in order to run on concrete, and any other surface, as the stress is reduced.
Numerous experts have claimed that running barefoot on concrete or in urban areas is actually bad for the health and for the body, because the tension would be too high. However, other experts have said that barefoot running in the modern area is not bad for the health, and the reason for that is the fact that the shocks associated with the process of running are inexistent when we land with our toes first. Lieberman wanted to see if running on hard surfaces can represent a threat for the body, so he asked the volunteers to run on various surfaces, including steel plates. He reached to the conclusion that running barefooted even on those dangerous surfaces is not harmful for the body. However, the problem associated with barefoot running is the fact that many of the urban areas are filled with rocky surfaces, or glass, and injuries might result because of them. Another problem is the fact that it takes a while until you learn the proper way of running. Even if you decide to run barefooted, you will land on your heels first, and during that transition period, the body will take lots of damage. The researchers have said that if the body is not trained and fit enough, the runner might develop Achilles tendonitis, simply because the barefoot running requires stronger leg muscles.
However, running with shoes has been associated with injuries as well. Casey Kerrigan, a professor at the University of Virginia, said that running with your shoes on can cause osteoarthritis in your joints and in your knees. Osteoarthritis occurs when the cartilages from your joints break, and when that happens, the bones will rub on bones, which will result in serious pain. She conducted a study in which she analyzed the running of various people, examining the stress which is placed on various parts from the body, such as the knees, the hips, and the ankles. The researchers reached to the conclusion that when one runs with the shoes on, there is more stress on these parts of the body, than when the person runs barefooted. In the knees for example, the torque, or the pressure was increased with 38 percent. The interesting thing is that the pressure resulted from wearing running shoes was higher than the pressure resulted from walking in high heels, in the case of the women. However, Kerrigan admitted that the method she used for testing was not 100 percent accurate, because the forces from those parts of the body were not measured directly. She managed only to measure the forces located on the exterior of the knee, and not the ones located in its interior.
She does not believe that people should make the change to running barefoot, and the reason for that is the surface on which people run. Since the surface is very hard and rough, she believes that the shock is not absorbed in the proper and as a result the damage still occurs in the body. The researchers have also stated that the way in which one runs is extremely important as well. They said that the proper way of running is when one is in “the zone”, that being the moment when there is a balance between speed and comfort, when the heart is pumping, and the legs seem to have a mind of their own. That is when one runs without any difficulties, without focusing on the activity itself. For a very ling time now, it was believed that each person has the same constant metabolic energy rate. The experts believed that one needed the same level of energy for a certain length, regardless of the speed at which one moved. For example, you would need the same energy to cover one mile in 5 minutes or in 10 minutes. It was later discovered that this is not true, and that each person has his own optimal running pace.
When one reaches this optimal running pace, that person consumes the least amount of oxygen, and that is when that person is in the zone. The team of researchers analyzed the running style of six persons, on various speeds on the treadmill. The researchers have reached to the conclusion that each person has a different optimal running pace. The researchers discovered that there is a certain pace which will put a minimum strain on the body when it comes to the expanded energy. The pace situated between walking and jogging is the most efficient when it comes from moving from one place to the other.
