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Long distance running is evolving rapidly. A shoe technology war has kicked off in recent years with the introduction of new tools such as the curved carbon plate being added to race shoes. These shoes have been affectionately nicknamed “super shoes” for their almost unbelievable boost when it comes to racing performance. However, when it comes to running in carbon plated shoes long term, they can lead to weakness in foot and calf muscles leading to injuries that wouldn’t happen if the exact same shoe had no plate. The modern carbon-plated shoe most commonly has a curved carbon plate throughout the outsole. In professional athletics there is a one plate limit and as such most commercial shoes also follow this rule. Some examples of modern carbon-plated shoes include the Nike Vaporfly, the Nike Alphafly, and the Adidas Adizero Adios Pro series’ of shoes. The cured nature of the modern carbon plates leads to a rocker effect that a flat plate doesn’t and is the reason the flat carbon plate is no longer relevant and not included in the carbon-plated shoes produced and studied today. The shoe’s redistribution of load is the primary concern when it comes to weakness. Weakness in the context of elite and consistent runners is seen on a completely different scale to that of a normal person. The most dangerous weakness is not the overall weakest muscle in a runner, it is the weakness with the most disparity compared to the surrounding muscles. These kinds of weaknesses lead to the overuse of the surrounding muscles and a much higher risk of injury. A person with weak hips is less likely to get injured than a person with one weak hip because of our bodies ability to overcome issues by cheating for a short time. If a redistribution of load is done because of a weakness it causes short term gain, because the athlete can continue to run, but often ends in an injury because the areas that are suddenly under greater stress eventually fail and pick up an injury of some sort. Weakness in runners is all about disparity between similar muscles and redistribution of load. Injury risk is something that every athlete tries to minimize. For most athletes this includes being smart on their playing field but for long distance runners it is about maintaining strength throughout all muscles, no matter how small. Muscle strength disparities in localized areas have been proven to increase the risk of injury. An increase in injury risk can be hard to measure due to the huge amount of variables that can lead to injuries. For this reason an increase in weakness or a significant change in form can be seen as increased risk. Overuse injuries are the kind of injury most common for long distance runners. These injuries are often not from pure overuse but the kind of quick redistribution in load to a new muscle that can not handle it for the type of mileage most long distance runners run in their weekly training. These injuries are the main focus of studies when talking about distance running due to acute injuries being much more similar to a game of chance. Coaches and trainers have a much better chance at preventing overuse injuries and as such they focus their efforts on doing so.  Overuse injuries exclude some of the most common injuries in the normal world and instead are made up of injuries like stress fractures, strains, and aggravated muscles, tendons, and nerves. They are often nebulous and difficult to pin down. Long distance is often defined in race distance and is 5000 meters or more. Training as a long distance runner has weekly mileage goals and to be considered an experienced long distance runner the bare minimum is 40 miles a week. Less than that is good for inexperienced or shorter distance runners and does not constitute long term or heavy use of a carbon plated running shoe. For consistent use one must run in the carbon plated shoe for at least 6 miles at a time. The use of the shoe should be proportional to the weekly mileage. 15 miles a week for a 40 miles a week total athlete is consistent use whereas for an 80 mile a week runner it is purely complementary use. At minimum 40 percent of weekly mileage needs to be in the carbon plated shoe for it to be considered consistent use and this must be maintained for at least a month to see long term effects. To study the effects shorter distances can be used but will fail to fully encompass all long term effects for a long distance runner. The standard use of a carbon plated running shoe is to use them during workouts and races and not during recovery or steady state runs. Steady state consists of runs that are not for the purpose of recovery or to workout, essentially a neutral run. This style usage is typically minimal and reduces the risk. This style of training was encouraged by the fact that most shoes with carbon plates were expensive and geared toward racing and performance. As more people start to enjoy the benefits of running in a carbon plated shoe however, more shoes have carbon plates. One example of a shoe that is closer to a recovery shoe than a race shoe is the Nike Zoom Fly 5. The earlier generations of this shoe were widely considered good workout shoes, but the Zoom Fly 5 was different. It was heavier and had a less fast foam. Whether that be through a miss on Nikes part or a calculated move towards every day trainer, the result was increased day to day use. With the shoe feeling more like a recovery day trainer people started racking up the mileage. Another example is the previous generation, the Nike Zoom Fly 4. This had no issue being a fast workout shoe but was so well liked by many that they stretched the usage. This had the same result as the Zoom Fly 5, people were wearing a shoe with a carbon plate more than they had in the past. This is the type of consistent use that can lead to injuries. Not mindful training and overuse of workout shoes may be acceptable for hobby joggers but over 40 miles a week this can become a real issue that most certainly constitutes consistent and long term use.

References

Kiesewetter, P., Bräuer, S., Haase, R., Nitzsche, N., Mitschke, C., & Milani, T. L. (2022). Do Carbon-Plated Running Shoes with Different Characteristics Influence Physiological and Biomechanical Variables during a 10 km Treadmill Run? Applied Sciences, 12(15), 7949. https://doi.org/10.3390/app12157949

‌Hata, K., Noro, H., Takeshita, T., Yamazaki, Y., & Yanagiya, T. (2022). Leg stiffness during running in highly cushioned shoes with a carbon-fiber plate and traditional shoes. Gait & Posture. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2022.03.021

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