It’s been a bad summer for conventional wisdom, but I guess a good one for runners overall: The idea that a soft surface is better for runners (being easier on the joints) doesn’t have any scientific basis.
An exercise physiologist tried rehabbing an injured knee by switching to dirt paths from paved ones. Instead, he twisted his ankle on an irregular path and re-injured his knee. So what did he do while laid up again?
In the aftermath of his accident, Dr. Tanaka said he could not find any scientific evidence that a softer surface is beneficial to runners, nor could other experts he asked. In fact, it makes just as much sense to reason that runners are more likely to get injured on soft surfaces, which often are irregular, than on smooth, hard ones, he said.
What researchers have found is that the body adjusts to whatever it’s striking – i.e., remaining flexible when colliding with a harder, unyielding surface, and becoming more rigid when the surface is more forgiving. The model was done with cushioned shoes, but researchers suspect it can be applied to a runner’s feet and the ground as well.
As with a great deal of exercise articles, this one ends with “stick with what works for you” – reassuring for someone who almost exclusively runs on the road. Obviously I’m well-versed in debunking “running, period, is bad for your joints,” but I hadn’t – until now – escaped the little cloud of worry that I was flirting with injury during 95 percent of my runs.
(Caveat: I’m the kind of absent-minded runner who’s almost as likely to misstep on the road, be it icy or dry, uneven or smooth, as s/he is to wobble on a trail. So maybe this study is neither good nor bad news for me.)
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Woah, good to know! I worry about this often as well, but I much prefer running city streets to trail running. “Stick with what works for you” is usually a good solution, so I’ll keep on keeping on.
Trail running rocks! I’ll take 8 miles on the trails vs. the roads anyday. My legs recover much more quickly because of the softer, yet firm, trail surfaces. This, combined with the uneven surfaces one must navigate, strengthens more leg muscles and tendons than running repeatedly on flat hard surfaces such as roads and bike paths. That doctor may be correct in his scientific data but I can tell he’s no runner. Anyone can tell the difference from trail to road running on their legs. That being said, to each his/her own. Some prefer the roads, some the trails. Do what works best for you. JMHO of course…what do I know.
Shayne and Doug: I could not agree more with “do what works best for you” … the more I read about running, the more I realize that that’s pretty much the bottom line for everything!