Vigorous Exercise May Help Prevent Altzheimers
A growing body of medical research seems to be indicating that regular intense aeorbic exercise may reduce the likelihood, or at least delay the onset of the more serious symptoms of mental aging. A new study of 1,500 people in Sweden published this October found that hose who had engaged in robust physical activity at least twice a week since their youth or middle age had a 50% lower chance of developing dementia and a 60% lower risk of developing Altzheimer's than those who were sedentary!! November 2005's AARP Bulletin (yes, I'm in that age group) reports the details.
Barefoot Running
A day doesn’t go by but what we are asked about the idea of “barefoot running”. What is really being talked about here is generally not actually running without shoes, but rather running more “naturally”. This concept is not exactly new. Way back in the early days when we opened, there was a school of thought that had runners doing their training in “flats” - shoes with minimal structure and minimal heel lift. Then there was the Nike “Free” shoe series, and the Adidas “Feet You Wear” series.
In a nutshell, the argument goes like this: running on our heels is not natural, and, in fact, cannot be performed without padded running shoes. Running “naturally” (read “unaided by the modern running shoe”) is biomechanically “correct” running. In “natural” running we will land on the forefoot, therefore, shoes are “bad” because they force us to alter out “natural” gait and allow us to land on the heel. Further extensions of this thought line imply that our feet and legs get weaker because we are not using them “naturally” when we run in a shoe; that we may get injured more frequently by using running shoes; and that we will run faster if we run barefoot because our feet on the ground for less time.
But there is little hard evidence to support any of this. First, we have little data on the podiatric problems of primitive people, so there is no way of knowing if they ran farther, faster and with fewer injuries than modern man. Recent studies have shown that there is no difference in running economy, in running speed between forefoot and heel strikers. High speed video taping of world class long distance runners has also shown that 75% of them land on the heel, 24% on the midfoot and 1% on the forefoot. As far as injuries go, in our anecdotal experience here at Phidippides, the idea of barefoot running strengthening the foot is contradicted by the experiences of our customers. Certain types of biomechanics will do fine barefoot running. Others will stress connective tissues that do NOT have high levels of cell activity (plantar fascia, tibial tendons, etc) and that take a LONG time to heal if stressed. These folks seem to heal and stay pain free if they are in a more supportive shoe. In fact, they are often coming to us with problems because they were in a more “natural” unsupportive shoe in the first place. “Natural” does NOT mean biomechanically correct, as we can attest to on a daily basis. Furthermore, runners may find that as they run more over the years, their style will change. They may in fact become more midfoot or forefoot strikers—or not.
Now, recent feedback from the medical community seems to be corroborating our years of experience. Barefoot running is bringing new injuries to runners, especially runners unprepared for barefoot running or runners whose biomechanics contraindicate the use of minimalist shoes. For a review of the topic, take a look at Competitor.com and also in an article on sportsscience.com where barefoot running was labeled as "a stimulus plan for physical therapists". Again, these reports are simply confirming our years of experience with tens of thousands of runners and walkers and their biomechanics and injuries.
Running shoe companies have long recognized that different running styles and running biomechanics require different types of shoes. The often used categories of “neutral”, “stability” and “motion control” are multiplying—we now have companies refining categories or blurring the distinctions between them. We here at Phidippides have always felt that there is a continuum of structure in shoes and that the categories are in some ways not so helpful. What has always mattered is finding the right shoe for the runner, regardless of how it is categorized.
On a technical note, I think it is interesting to note that one of the Holy Grails of running shoe design has been to make shoes more auto-adaptive to the runner's weight and biomechanics. This auto adaptive technology allows the shoe to perform more "in tune" with the runner's specific individual characteristics. Right now, in fact, most companies are looking to a new generation of materials that will auto adapt to different running styles, runner body weights, etc, effectively transcending categories. Witness the new Brooks Glycerin 8 with its new DNA adaptive cushioning system, or the Nike Lunarglide series. Asics has long touted the IGS system as somewhat auto adaptive. The idea here is to not force the foot to do anything in particular, but to automatically support the foot and adapt to the specific requirements of the individual runner. I personally think the future of running shoes is the auto adaptive technology. As materials improve (and it's been a while since there was a really big jump in materials technology) shoes will be able to provide more support and more cushioning to those that need it, and MORE IMPORTANTLY, vary the support and cushioning at different phases in the gait cycle! This is REALLY exciting news. It will allow shoes to modify their performance characteristics WHILE the runner is running, doing one thing early in the marathon, say, and doing another as running form deteriorates later in the race. It's an exciting time for shoe development and we're enjoying every minute of it.
In summary, the way we look at the barefoot running idea is that it may well be a great training tool and become a component of training for some runners, but it is certainly not the panacea for every running ailment under the sun that some adherents proclaim it to be. To that end, Phidippides is carefully adding more of these neutral, auto adaptive or barefoot offerings to our product mix. Our goal has been and continues to be to use our knowledge and expertise to help our customers have the best running experience possible and to achieve their fitness goals no matter what they may be and do it with as few injuries as possible, and to stick to this principle regardless of the latest fads. For what we see as a fairly balanced perspective on the topic of barefoot running, take a look at a position paper with opinions from both sides recently published by Brooks. Check it out here. There's also a great review of commentary by running experts available as well - click here to read what they have to say and draw your on conclusions as to if or how you should incorporate barefoot running into your fitness regimen.
Stanford University Study on The Effects of Running
Regular running slows the effects of aging, according to a new study from the Stanford School of Medicine that tracked 500 older runners for more than 20 years. Elderly runners have fewer disabilities, a longer span of active life and are half as likely as nonrunners to die early deaths, the research found.
The study, begun in 1984, followed two groups, one of active runners and another similar group of non runners as they aged. The study showed definitively that running slows the aging process; that runners become disabled an average of 16 years later than non-runners; that runners physical abilities in general do NOT dissipate as quickly as they age; that non only are older runners more fit cardiovascularly, but (and this was not expected) they are less likely to die from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes). The lead researcher in the study, James Fries, MD, said "We did not expect this. The health benefits of exercise are greater than we thought." Death comes to all (bummer), but this study demonstrated that the effect of running on delaying death has been more dramatic than scientists expected. Not surprisingly, running slowed cardiovascular deaths. However, it was also associated with fewer early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes.
Read the details of the study here, and get out and hit the road!
