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Australian researchers said Thursday they had found no scientific proof that hi-tech running shoes improve athletic performance or limit injury.
Newcastle University physiologist Craig Richards said the myth of the modern exploded into a running shoe had vast industry since the 1970s but a study of sports medicine literature since 1950 found there was no scientific proof they worked.
"A collective psyche has developed around these shoes," Richards, the lead researcher, said. "It's so ingrained now that to even suggest that there's no evidence that they work gets a very rude reaction from people."
"But we searched all the sports medicine literature we could find looking for a carefully controlled trial measuring whether or not modern hi-tech running shoes decrease injury rates, improve performance or decrease the risk of osteoarthritis later in life. We basically couldn't find anything," he said.
While the shoes were subject to extensive biomechanical testing, Richards said his study - published in the current edition of the British Journal of Sports Medicine - showed they had never been examined in a real-world environment.
"You can't determine whether or not a shoe changes your injury rates in a laboratory," he said.
The shoes typically feature elevated cushioned heels intended to absorb impact, protect the Achilles tendon and stop the foot from rolling, but Richards said the claims had never been put to the street test.
Sports medicine, not advertising, that was to blame for the myth, he said. Richards said his team would launch a study on the benefits, if any, of such shoes later this year.
澳大利亚研究人员于上周四称，他们并未发现有关高科技跑鞋能提高运动成绩或减少受伤的科学依据。
纽卡斯尔大学的生理学家克雷格•理查兹称，自上世纪70年代以来，现代跑鞋的神话已催生出一个庞大的产业，但一项对1950年之后的运动医学文献的研究发现，跑鞋具有神奇功效一说并没有科学依据。
首席研究员理查兹说：“人们对跑鞋已经形成了一种集体心理效应，而且这种观念根深蒂固，甚至在我们称没有证据表明跑鞋有神奇功效时都会招致人们十分猛烈的抨击。”
他说：“但我们查阅了所有可以找到的运动医学文献,寻找一种严格控制的试验，希望能估量现代高科技跑鞋是否可以降低受伤几率，提高运动成绩或降低日后患骨关节炎风险，但基本一无所获。”
理查兹称，尽管跑鞋经过了广泛的生物医学的检验，但他们的这项研究表明，跑鞋的功效从未在现实环境中得以验证。该研究成果在最新一期《英国体育医学杂志》上发表。
他说：“你不能在实验室里断定跑鞋能否降低受伤几率。”
现代跑鞋的典型特征是鞋跟处垫厚，以增加缓冲，保护跟腱，防止脚部晃动。但理查兹称这些功效从未在跑道上验证过。
理查兹称，“跑鞋神话”应归咎于运动医学，而非广告。他称他的研究小组将于今年晚些时候开展一项针对跑鞋功效的研究。
