Study finds expensive trainers a waste of money

A study carried out by researchers at the Institute of Motion Analysis and Research within the School of Medicine has found that expensive trainers are not worth the money.

The study, which will be music to the ears of cash-strapped parents everywhere, showed that cheap and moderately priced running shoes are just as good, if not better, in terms of cushioning impact and overall comfort within the same brand.

First published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine the research findings were based on a comparison of nine pairs of trainers, bought from three different manufacturers, in three different price ranges.

The cheapest pairs were priced at £40 to £45 while the mid-price range cost between £60 and £65 and the most expensive between £70 and £75.

Participants were not told how much any of the shoes cost. Plantar pressure - the force produced by the impact of the sole hitting the ground - was recorded under eight different areas of the sole of the foot, using an electronic insole with 99 sensors, part of the Pedar® in-shoe pressure system, attached to the shoes.

Different models performed differently for different areas of the foot but, overall, there were no major differences among the shoes, irrespective of brand or price. In fact, plantar pressure was lower in the cheap to moderately priced shoes, although this difference was not statistically significant.

Runners were also asked to rate the comfort of the shoes from "least" to "most comfortable imaginable," using a validated graded scale. Comfort ratings varied considerably, but there were no obvious differences among the shoes and price was no indicator of comfort score.

Professor Rami Abboud, Director of the Institute of Motion Analysis and Research said the study had been prompted by the wide variation in prices for running shoes.

"There are big variations within the same brand and I wanted to find out why that was the case," he explained. "If you look at shoes it is difficult to see any difference so I decided to assess them in more detail. So far we haven't been able to find any real difference."