Why you might want a pair of these maximalist trainers in your shoe rotation.
By Jenny McCoy
Anything that promises to make running more comfortable is an enticing sell to runners whose feet pound pavement, track, and treadmill for many hours every week. Comfort and bounce are the big allure of shoes with maximal padding.
In fact, cushioned running shoes continue to surge in popularity. Visit your local running store, and you’ll encounter a slew of cushioned options, from brands including Brooks, Nike, Hoka, Saucony, and Altra.
But do these shoes offer benefits for performance? We dug into the research and spoke with three experts on the pros and cons of cushioned running shoes. Here’s what you need to know.
What are cushioned running shoes?
The definition of “cushioned shoe” is one of those things that falls under the category of “we know it when we see it,” because there is no official definition or description of cushioned shoe. Cushioning “exists on a spectrum,” Matthew Boyd, a physiotherapist and run coach in Alberta, Canada, tells Runner’s World. A shoe such as Vibram’s FiveFingers provides pretty much zero cushioning while Nike’s Alphafly contains a maximum amount.
“Then there’s a spectrum in between,” Boyd explains, with most shoes falling into a middle range, or what he describes as “typical” cushioning. So, while there isn’t a specific set of criteria for what constitutes a cushioned shoe, they do have a few common attributes.
First, cushioned shoes have soft, often thick, padding in the midsole, which is designed to increase shock absorption, Bill McCann, D.P.M., a New Hampshire-based podiatrist, tells Runner’s World. Compared to shoes with minimal padding, they feel softer and more comfortable on your feet.
Second, many of today’s cushioned shoes trend towards a maximalist design, featuring additional layers of foam and other material to make them “higher stack” shoes, meaning the foot plate, or base, sits higher off the ground, Stephen M. Pribut, D.P.M., a Washington D.C.-based podiatrist, tells Runner’s World.
Thanks to materials such as EVA (a plastic and rubber foam), these shoes are light and offer more energy return, McCann points out. In other words, you feel a bounce when you run in them.
What are the pros of cushioned running shoes?
For certain runners, cushioned shoes can deliver on the promise of making the activity more comfortable.
In particular, cushioned shoes may help those with limited range of motion in their ankle, knee, and/or hip joints, McCann says. That’s because the softness of the shoe triggers a response in your joints and they stiffen to help you stay balanced and upright. Without this response, runners may feel pain if a joint moves beyond a comfortable range, he adds.
Cushioned running shoes may also benefit ultrarunners because the cushioning is less abrasive against the skin and subcutaneous tissue, reducing the risk of blisters and foot aches, Boyd explains.
Some people assume that heavier runners in particular benefit from cushioned shoes because the soft surface lessens the ground impact forces on their joints. Boyd points to a randomized controlled trial of 848 recreational runners, published in 2019, that debunked this school of thought. The researchers concluded that cushioned shoes provided no protective benefit to heavier runners. On the contrary, the study did find a protective effect for lighter runners, but it was fairly small.
Additionally, research has shown that some highly cushioned super shoes, such as the Nike Vaporfly, significantly improves performance. However, “it’s not necessarily the cushioning that’s helping,” Boyd explains. It’s more likely other factors, such as the foam having a certain rebound, the carbon plate, and that they’re extremely light, he says.
That said, many runners benefit from putting a maximally cushioned shoe in rotation alongside a moderately cushioned shoe and a more minimally cushioned shoe, Boyd explains. That’s because training with varying degrees of cushioning can increase your tolerance to different stresses and thus reduce your overall risk of injury.
The key here is variety: For cushioned shoes to be helpful in this context, “you’d need the combo of all the shoes, not just the one shoe,” Boyd says.
What are the cons of cushioned running shoes?
One big downside of cushioned shoes is they may hamper running economy. That’s because increased padding often causes people to land with a slightly straighter knee and with a little harder of a heel strike that’s further out in front of them, Boyd explains.
Often, but not always, runners will also adopt a lower cadence in a cushioned shoe, Boyd adds. “All of these things are generally seen as less helpful when you’re looking at improving running economy,” Boyd says.
Moreover, the shock absorption of cushioned shoes can hinder your body’s ability to feel the ground and cause your muscles to activate in response later than normal, which can ultimately increase the force of impact on your joints, Pribut explains. Indeed, a small 2018 study involving 12 male runners, found that running in maximalist cushioned shoes increased impact loading compared to conventional shoes, especially at high speeds.
Plus, having your joints stiffen in response to cushioned shoes can cause discomfort for some runners, McCann says. Boyd agrees, saying the biomechanical changes induced by cushioned shoes can exacerbate existing pains and injuries for some athletes.
For example, people with ankle sprains or posterior tibial tendinitis (shin splints) would likely do better with a more moderately (versus maximally) cushioned shoe, says Pribut, though this isn’t a one-size-fits-all prescription.
Lastly, heavier cushioned shoes with minimal return can be inefficient, though, as mentioned there are plenty of newer cushioned shoes with lightweight designs and good return. “It really depends on the material,” McCann says.
In the end, cushioned shoes can change your biomechanics in a way that is helpful for some ailments and unhelpful for others, Boyd says. Sussing out which specific injuries a cushioned shoe could help is nuanced and depends on individual biomechanics, he explains, but in general, runners should avoid grabbing a pair of plush kicks as a solution to their aches and pains.
How do you choose a cushioned running shoe that works for you?
If you’ve previously run well and avoided injuries with cushioned shoes, then feel free to stick with them. “The most important thing is probably what’s worked well in the past,” says Pribut. But if you haven’t given them a whirl before? Consider opting for a more middle-of-the-road shoe first, he says.
That said, serious runners may want to consider having multiple shoes in their rotation that offer varying degrees of cushioning, McCann says. Like Boyd explained, this can increase your biomechanical tolerance to different stresses and ultimately reduce overall injury risk.
Probably the biggest risk for a running injury is abrupt and drastic change, whether that’s to your training plan or to your shoes, Boyd says. “If you’re used to a certain amount of cushioning in your shoes, deviating significantly from that and doing it quite abruptly, that’s a risky strategy,” he says, as it will alter your biomechanics.
If you’ve never donned cushioned shoes before, but are curious to try out a pair, wear them for no more than 10 to 20 percent of your total weekly volume, suggests Boyd. If you’re feeling good after a few weeks, you can slip them on more frequently, though again, your best bet is to rotate through a diverse stable of trainers versus wearing the same pair for every run.
