Psychologists at the University of Manchester, have revealed
in a latest study that new running shoes to burn off Christmas excess are a
popular purchase in the New Year, but the terms were associated with supportive
footwear and alternative styles of running could be confusing, reports
ITRealms.
In what they believe is a first of its kind study,
University of Manchester psychologists conducted in-depth interviews with eight
recreational runners to find out their attitudes to barefoot and minimalist
running (minimalist shoes are designed to mimic running barefoot).
Media Relations Officer at The University of Manchester, Mr.
Jamie Brown, in a press statement made available to ITRealms quoted these
experts as saying they found that there were strong negative reactions to barefoot
running, with the interviewees concerned about risks regarding support and
injury, without being clear what these might be.
Trusted sources of information about potential risks
included shops which provided gait analysis, blogs and also anecdotal evidence
from fellow runners. Health
professionals and scientific research tended to be disregarded.
Most runners buy supportive trainers – but don’t have a
common or clear definition of what they are buying, leading to confusion even
amongst the more experienced runners featured in the study.
Peter Walton carried out the study, asserted that “When you
buy supportive trainers is what you’re buying different to everyone else?
Ultimately if there is no clear definition, then people don’t know that their
shoes are meeting their expectations.
“Conversely, barefoot running has been used by humans for
hundreds of thousands of years, yet running shoes as we know them were only
introduced in 1972. Attitudes to barefoot running also centre around negative
perceptions of the loose term ‘support’, yet without a foundation in evidence.”
With around 25 per cent of all recreational runners injured
at any one time the researchers believe that the findings are important to help
people make the best choices and have the best access to information.
“People often have inconsistent ideas about barefoot and
minimalist running, which are often formed by potentially biased sources and
which may lead people to make poor decisions about barefoot and minimalist
running. It is important to provide high-quality information to enable better
decisions to be made about barefoot and minimalist running,” he said.
The paper, ‘What do people think about running barefoot/with
minimalist footwear? A Thematic Analysis,’ appeared in the British Journal of
Health Psychology.
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