Have you any idea how much life is left in your latest training footwear? Regardless of whether you are walking, running or gym-ing in your trainers, you will only get a certain amount of miles from a shoe before the cushioning and support in your shoes wears out. Frustratingly, you cannot always tell how much cushioning remains in your shoe as the cushioning can still look quite new but believe us when we say that exercising in a worn out shoe is high up there on our list of things that cause injuries!
The difficulty is this…a training shoe without enough cushioning and support can cause an injury but quite often, the clients we meet have already picked up a niggling injury before they realise that it is the lack of cushioning in their shoes that has caused the injury in the first place!! Training regularly in shabby shoes will increase the risk of repetitive injuries in your feet, legs and pelvis.
The midsole is the most important part of your shoe. This is the part of the shoe that gives you the cushioning and support that you need when you move. It acts as an effective shock absorber for your lower leg every time your foot strikes the ground so the cushioning and support in your training shoes plays an important part in the health and well being of your feet and legs in particular. As a rule, experts say you should replace shoes after 300 to 500 miles. We know this is a large variance but as a guide, consider the following points:
1. Exercising on hard ground all the time will wear shoes out quicker than training on soft terrain
2. The more miles you do, the quicker the cushioning in the shoe starts to deplete
3. A heavier person will wear footwear out faster than a lighter-weight person
It’s not always massively obvious when your shoes approach the end of their life. You can always keep a mileage log to give you a rough idea on how worn the cushioning may be or you can keep an eye out for certain changes in your
shoes.
If you can see the white midsole through the outer sole then the shoes are wearing down. If you can easily push your thumb into the midsole of the shoe then the cushioning has probably seen better days and if one shoe becomes more worn than the other shoe then it’s likely that’s it’s a good time to invest in a new pair and get your movement gait assessed by an expert.
You can always bring your footwear with you when you visit one of our clinics in Bolton, Chorley and Leeds and we will do a quick assessment on the wear and tear for you.
