No. Well, not as much as people think. For many years shoe wear companies, retailers and health professionals have been telling people to determine their foot type before choosing a running shoe.
It is relevant when combined with other factors previously mentioned like injury history, foot shape and volume of training for example. Foot and shoe wear biomechanics research is largely moving away from the concept of support to simply reducing the weight of the shoe. Why?
F=ma
Heavier the shoe, the greater force when contacting the running surface. Ok, there are some of us who like the support and shy away from change and that is ok if it works for you.
The number of times I’ve seen runners with flat feet who simply get irritation from a supportive shoe……….I’ve lost count. Its all about reducing the force. Orthotics, shoe wear and advice of training regimes are examples of managing load with the runner. Unfortunately it isn’t as simple as buying a shoe that has ‘arch support.’
