If you’ve ever sustained an injury from running, you’re not alone; about half of all adults who run regularly will get injured each year. And if that’s not enough to put you off, having a history of previous injuries is one of the strongest risk factors for getting injured again.

So it’s no surprise that avoiding injuries is a priority for runners.

One third of runners are so concerned about this, in fact, that they’ll ditch their plain old running shoes for fancier footwear they feel is safer and will improve their performance. But do the promises made by global footwear companies about their expensive running shoes stack up?

The evidence

The first thing we need to address is whether the modern running shoe’s extra safety features, such as increased stability or extra cushioning, are protecting people from injury. Not very much, according to a provocative 2009 review that highlighted a lack of research testing exactly this.

More evidence has emerged since, but we’re still none the wiser.

Read the full story at Source: Expensive running shoes don’t prevent injuries, but comfortable ones might