Choosing Sports Shoes

Athletic footwear has changed enormously over the past several decades, and picking the right pair now matters a lot more than just choosing whatever looks good.

Cushioning is one of the biggest advances — older athletic shoes offered little more than a rubber sole between your foot and the ground, while modern shoes use engineered foams designed to absorb impact and reduce the forces that travel up through your joints, particularly during running.

The right shoe really depends on what you’re doing with it. A dedicated running shoe prioritizes cushioning and forward motion support, a tennis shoe is built for lateral stability so your foot doesn’t slide inside the shoe during quick side-to-side movement, and a cross-training shoe is a reasonable middle ground for people who split their time across several different activities without training seriously in any one of them.

Fit comes before everything else. A shoe that’s the wrong shape for your foot will cause problems no matter how advanced the cushioning technology inside it is. It’s worth trying shoes from a few different manufacturers, since shoe shape varies more between brands than most people expect, and worth paying attention to common complaints like knee, hip, or foot pain, which often trace back to a poor-fitting shoe rather than the activity itself.

Kids deserve particular attention here, since a growing foot benefits even more from a well-designed, properly fitted shoe than an adult’s does. NEMA encourages parents and athletes alike to prioritize fit and function over style when shopping for athletic shoes.