subject: Bad Knees or Knee Pain? Try Checking Your Running Shoes! [print this page] Bad Knees or Knee Pain? Try Checking Your Running Shoes!
If you have bad knees, running can sometimes be a painful ordeal. Sadly, even if you work out every day and are in great shape, bad knees can make it very difficult to continue running. Running shoes can help with the problem, however, and knowing the science behind why knee pain occurs in runners and what kind of shoe is appropriate for your problem will help significantly in reducing the discomfort during and after running.
Everyone has natural suspensions in their feet to help absorb the impact of them hitting the ground when you run. The biggest problem in runners with knee pain is when their feet over compensate for that impact, or overpronate, which causes your quadriceps and hamstrings to develop oddly. People with flat feet or people with a low arch in their foot are more likely to overpronate and therefore are more likely to have knee pain. So, if you have bad knees as a runner, its worth noting the importance of the correct pair of running shoes before you go shopping.
For the past couple decades, many shoe companies have been making shoes particularly for runners with bad knees. Stability, support, and motion control are all specifications to look for when searching for the shoe you'd like to run in. For overpronation, stability is a must to avoid knee pain. For a more severe case, look for motion control when shopping. If you are flat footed the best thing to look for is support. Sometimes you'll see a shoe being advertised as having "added support", which is exactly what you're looking for.
Here are a couple of different running shoes for runners who experience pain in the knees.
1) New Balance is a highly acclaimed shoemaker for runners, and the New Balance 1224 is a great stability shoe for running, as it combines upper and sole unit technologies to help with pain. Great for people with flat feet.
2) Nike Zoom Structure Triax+ 13 is also a great stability running shoe, allowing an easier ride and added heel support for more comfort.
3) The Brooks Beast 10 is considered to be one of the best shoes for overpronation, allowing supreme comfort and performance, while dampening pain in the knees.
4) Saucony Progrid Stabil CS is a motion control shoe that, unlike most stiff motion control shoes, is very supportive for your feet.
