Running shoes good for Tennis

[fuzz nation]

I think that the notion of "shock absorption" in a shoe can be misleading. That diagram above in charliefedererer's post shows misaligned ankles which can occur in any shoes that don't match up correctly to a player's feet, including sneak's designed for tennis. When I've found shoes that give me proper ankle alignment, I also get much better "shock absorption" from them, even if the soles of those shoes are especially thin.

Pounding on misaligned ankles will drive any of us straight to tendonitis town. I think that this is why it's important to pay attention to the descriptions of different shoes. Some are made for medium to wider feet, others for more narrow feet, and even for those with flatter or higher arches.

As far as shoe stability and resisting ankle rolls works for me, I describe that by comparing an F-1 race car with a high-riding SUV. Turn hard in one direction or the other (yes, laterally) and which one is more likely to roll? The one that's got a higher center of gravity - the SUV. No comparison. My more stable shoes have been the same in that the closer they keep my feet to the court, the more stability I enjoy with them, even if the heel counter isn't built like the Alamo.

Running shoes usually have a lot of "stuff" under the heel, which might be good for a runner who needs to have that cushy business under the heel to soften the repetitive landing when loping along. As a tennis player though, that only creates a higher platform that my heel can roll off of when I push sideways good and hard. The lower my foot is riding, the less leverage there is between my heel and the court to effectively "tip my ankle over".

[Tennis Truth]

The article seemed ok to me until it veered off the cliff with the below quote:

“I’m not saying everyone should go out and play in running shoes; I am saying that wearing quality running shoes to play tennis does not lose stability or risk injury versus a tennis shoe, and the advantage of the running shoe is they help you push off and move forward better than most tennis shoes,” says Grossman, who believes scanning technology has both performance and health benefits.

First off, while he "says" he is not advocating everyone play tennis in running shoes, that is exactly what he seemd to be advocating in the next sentence.

As others have said, running forward is not the dominant movement in tennis, and I think it is universally acknowledged that running shoes DO lack lateral stability and do increase risk of potential injury.

Also, I think there HAVE been advances in tennis shoes since the old days. Shoes used in the wooden racquet days were very different than today. Old shoes were often more like canvas Chuck Taylor type. Granted, maybe there can be additional advances in shoes through the scientific processes discussed in the article.

[r2473]

You guys still use shoes to play tennis?

Don't you know that barefoot is the only way? The natural way?

You are just slaves to the great sports shoe conspiracy man.

[Povl Carstensen]

Well the body is a great shock absorbing mechanism, that is my experience.

[rk_sports]

Originally Posted by travlerajm

I've found that running shoes definitely have more cushion than tennis shoes, and so it really helps keep my knees tendinitis-free.

Also, I argue that running shoes actually reduce my risk of rolling my ankles. Tennis shoes have wider base and hard edges, while running shoes have much softer edges.

Once you start to roll in tennis shoes and get past the point of no return, you've rolled it. Now you're out for a few weeks.

But with running shoes -- and the softer edges -- there is no point of no return. When you start to roll a little, you can always catch yourself.

I used to roll my ankles fairly severely and frequently until I swtiched to running shoes 5 years ago. Now I know that tennis shoes are dangerous and high risk for my ankles.

By the way, I am being 100% serious -- this post is no joke.

Except for you (and the hippie who said the classic 'You are just slaves to the great sports shoe conspiracy man.' ) , almost all are saying the opposite.. now, I understand this was your experience... but do you have any other evidence or a study of some sort?

[bertrevert]

The only time I wore runners to tennis, when running forward and going into a slide, the high spacious top of the running shoes (rather than the flat boat-y prow of a tennis shoe) allowed my big toe to bobble up inside, the shoe gripped the tip of my big toenail and bent it back resulting in pain, a black toenail, and the loss of it later.

I stopped ever contemplating runners for tennis.

I have seen someone wear the tough cross country hiking type boot (not leather) with the fairly raised teeth underneath, and as a non-flexy, tough and hard shoe it seemed to suit their flat non-explosive footwork on synthetic grass - they were a real grinder-type player - fairly well. Still, wouldn't want my toenail bent back in one of those.

Interesting topic - caught my left toe while moving side to side last night and rolled my ankle. It was in a weakened state due to the last injury 6 weeks ago. Wasn't wearing my ASO brace. Am thinking to wear braces henceforth on both ankles as preventative (a la Murray, Hewitt et al). It's not just the shoes. I have wonderfully flexy and bendy ankles - it just so happens not particularly suited to tennis and will have to wear braces as preventative from now on because each rolled ankle is 4-6 weeks out.

[Povl Carstensen]

Shoes badly aggrevates the risk and impact of rolling your ankle. Thats why Vivo Barefoot was invented, see http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showt...=329051&page=2

[bertrevert]

Wouldn't want to be rolling ankles in runners.

To my mind tennis shoes have flanges underneath to offer greater contact and a flat non-rolling surface. Up top they offer far more lateral support with various built-in plastics and strapping in the shoe.

Runners, put simply, are built for fwd moves and not side to side. Or look at it the other way. Go run on the road in tennis shoes eg. Barricades. Not very "runnerly" are they!

If you are in runners on court I just don't think you can go for extreme moves, certainly not with confidence.

[Chyeaah]

Its also harder to slide with runners. Running shoes are fine, but you have to turn and run in a straight line to get those extreme shots. But running shoes are better at sprinting to dropshots.

[superfittennis]

Running shoes are great for running in a straight line only. When agility is involved do not wear running shoes. There is a reason why you will never see a pro or college player wearing running shoes. No lateral stability!!!

My ankle hurts just thinking about this

[aweil]

Originally Posted by Bobby Jr

Yeah, the physics of it say completely otherwise.

Running shoes have softer soles all the way across (left to right) so they start to compress and lean over with uneven weight application way earlier than any good tennis shoe. So you reach the point of rolling earlier also - that being the point at which your weight is outside the lateral strength limits of the ankle joint when the foot is bent under.

The wide base of a tennis shoe is the start of the support advantage over a running shoe. While running shoes often have the same sort of sole width - that is so they have enough rubber on the ground for grip, not support. Above that they have more spongy soles and so far less lateral support.

Try it. Put a piece of board on a phone book and stand on it. Then put the same piece of wood on a pillow and see how unstable it is comparatively. Extreme example but shows why tennis shoes are such a tricky piece of equipment to make well - you have to give support but its high impact nature necessitates cushioning.

What you say about running shoes in relation to injury however might hold some sort of merit. The fact that running shoes will roll more readily may mean you bail out when there's less force being applied - ergo the roll wont be as severe as if it happened much later with a bigger weight behind it.

Personally I'd rather not find out I was wrong and so wear the shoes designed for the job. If I get tendinitis in my knee I'd address that at the time.

then just buy a stiffer running shoe that has pronation support

[aweil]

Originally Posted by superfittennis

Running shoes are great for running in a straight line only. When agility is involved do not wear running shoes. There is a reason why you will never see a pro or college player wearing running shoes. No lateral stability!!!

My ankle hurts just thinking about this

not true at all there are plenty of running shoes out there that offer just as much stability as say a nike vapor 8

[Fee]

I want to play like Federer, so I wear ballet slippers to play tennis.

Seriously, my tennis shoes were chosen to fit me differently than my (very expensive) New Balance running shoes. I have NB 'walking shoes' as well and they are hard for me to do my workout DVD's in because the sides are so high it rubs my heels when I do side lunges and other things. So I have running shoes, tennis shoes, walking/whatever shoes, and still need a pair of cross trainers or whatever for my dance-y/kickboxing/workout stuff. #firstworldproblems

[WildVolley]

Wasn't the Nike Breathe Free 2 basically a modified running shoe with a slightly tougher sole?

I had a pair years ago. It looked like a running shoe, had an elevated heel with the big airbags under it, and was reasonably flexible. Actually, the bars connecting the heel to the forefoot on the outsole snapped on mine right away, so that might have made it more flexible.

[LuckyR]

Originally Posted by WildVolley

Wasn't the Nike Breathe Free 2 basically a modified running shoe with a slightly tougher sole?

I had a pair years ago. It looked like a running shoe, had an elevated heel with the big airbags under it, and was reasonably flexible. Actually, the bars connecting the heel to the forefoot on the outsole snapped on mine right away, so that might have made it more flexible.

The BF2 (the GOAT tennis shoe, IMO) felt like a running shoe because it was way, way less material than any prior tennis shoe. This made it feel like a running shoe when you held it in your hand, but on the court the outer upper (the cage style) gave almost as much support as the old leather tech, at about a third of the weight.

[JRstriker12]

Originally Posted by aweil

not true at all there are plenty of running shoes out there that offer just as much stability as say a nike vapor 8

stability in a straight line......

Unless you are looking at cross-trainers, running shoes do not have the same amount of lateral support.

[chrischris]

I play every other time on hard courts in my nike running shoes.. it has helped my shin splints a lot. takes away that extra pounding .

[newyorkstadium]

Originally Posted by charliefedererer

Don't use running shoes for tennis.

The thick cushioned "high heel" on running shoes is an invitation for turning your ankle.


Put that together with a lack of medial/lateral support [too much weight for runners] in running shoes and you have the perfect recipe for a sprained ankle.


Is Dr. Grossman, the author of that article, trying to drum up business for himself?


And there is another reason not use to use running shoes. Most have a softer rubber sole and a grip pattern that will very quickly wear down on the courts. As Dr. Grossman's analysis showed [and every tennis player already knew], tennis players are constantly pushing off the inside of their feet, so the wear on the shoes will be uneven, leading to an outside to inside slope on their running shoe's soles.
You will be standing like this, with your ankles turned in:

And when you go to run, there will be a twisting motion not only at your ankle, but above as well, with tendons and muscles subject to abnormal twisting forces, just like those that trouble runners with flat feet and over pronation.


So for those that think they will save money by having just one pair of shoes for both tennis and running, they will have lousy, injury prone shoes for tennis, and all too quickly, lousy shoes for running.


[Now all that being said, I have been wearing Asics running shoes for years, and find the Asics Gel Resolutions to have more of a running shoe cushioned feel than any other tennis shoe I have tried. But in a tennis shoe without a "high heel" and with plenty of medial/lateral support.]

What is medial/lateral support? Where is it on the shoe? What if a running shoe has a zero drop heel?

[sureshs]

I use the Federer Nike Vapor Airs from TW for everything - work, weekend chores, tennis, travel.

[3fees]

Depends on the running shoe,,not all running shoes are created equal, some cradle the foot to the ankle,,when I was growing up if you didn't wear converse all stars low cut-black,,you got funny looks from everyone on the tennis courts..