Newtons & Injuries

ironmikega

Anyone have any personal experience with switching to Newton running shoes and having a correlated injury?  I've been running in the same Brooks model for the last decade and have had some tri-friends suggest I switch at the end of this season. I went into a retailer that up until recently carried Newtons and they put the full court press on me to not switch.  Said too many of their customers were injured running in them.  My guess is that was from not transitioning properly, being heel strikers, etc.

So - I'm just trying to figure out if they were really serious, or they just wanted to sell me a pair of shoes they had in stock rather than send me to a competitor that still carried Newtons.

Leslie Knight

I tried Newtons after I had already successfully switched to minimal shoes. They didn't injure me, per se, but they made my dropped metatarsal hurt MUCH more. I had to give them back.
I strongly suspect that most issues are from wrongly transitioning. When I help people transition, I tell them no more than 5 min in the new style shoe. After four runs with NO PAIN anywhere, 7 min, then 9, and so on. After they are up to 3-4 miles, they can increase a mile at a time. It works well if one is patient.

jaleslie

Mike....my n=1 experience:

I'm not a "runner", and I'm slow, so take this with a grain of salt.....I started real running two years ago when I started doing triathlons instead of just road cycling.  My local tri shop put me in a pair of Mizuno trainers with lots of "drop".  They were fine, but I felt they were too heavy.  The kept me in a similar pair for my second purchase.  I then decided I wanted to try something lighter and with less drop.  I tried the Newton Gravity.  I have also tried from the beginning two years ago to focus on good form, since I'm not naturally fast and kind of "gangly" (tall, thin, not very muscular).  I have LOVED the Newtons.  I ordered a second pair exactly like the first and am almost out of miles on them.....I already have another pair (prior year model though....got them dirt cheap online) in the box ready to use when these are done.  What I like about them is the midfoot/forefoot "lugs" give me feedback.  I can tell when I'm heel striking because the lugs aren't giving me feedback.  

My $0.02 is that if you are good runner with good form, it probably doesn't matter much what you wear as long as they are quality and fairly light.  If you think your foot strike is not great, and you want to pay attention to it and improve, they are great.  

I have heard of people getting injuries switching to them, but I wonder if some if it just switching to a shoe with less drop/support than a traditional trainer.  

Unless you are injury-prone, I'd give them a try.  They (Newton) do recommend gradually working your way into them (using old faithful with smattering of Newtons at first, gradually transitioning).  I did that, but don't think I really needed to.  

I'm also an "over-pronator" and the Gravity are supposedly not good for me.  But, I think that this medial post crap is just that.  There is no way that some foam or gel can prevent pronation....it just leads to blisters for me.  My body weight plus gravity crashing down on some foam that is supposed to "support" all that mass?.....I just don't buy it.  Just leads to friction/blisters IMHO. 

Wow....that ended up being much longer than I anticipated...sorry!  

Brad Marcus

Not to hi-jack this thread, but do any of you Newton wearers switch back and forth with Newtons and another show with more drop for longer runs? Like Mike, I've been running (injury free) in the same variation of shoes (Brooks Ghosts) for a few years and have been thinking of mixing in a lighter shoe, with less drop, for track work, short runs and short races....my brooks are HEAVY with LOTS of drop. Does this make sense?

carruti77

I used to use newtons and i got injured after running Nyc marathon with them. I now use Brooks pure cadence III andi love them. Good cushioning, very low drop and light

Dawn Cass

Hello - I have been asking some of the same questions. I have been wearing Asics for more than 20 years for running...love the 1170/2170 series. Last year they remarked to a new "2000" series and it was awful so I was forced to try something different. I went for Newtons and tried to work on improving my form. Like the other posts....starting slow is the key as you need to get used to them. Most of the injuries I have heard about have been calf strain and that's more in people who try to do to much to quickly. Since running in Newtons, I have done a PR marathon and PR half marathon. I cannot imagine it's the shoes to be honest! I think it's more related to form.

That said, around the time I switched, I started to get high hamstring pain and am still dealing with it today. All the doctors say it's unrelated and basically down to overuse in general at the end of last year....but still has me wondering.

I now try to go back to the Asics and they just seem to heavy now.

Am still looking around for the perfect shoe. Many people on EN wear Hoka's so you may also want to consider those. They have low drop versions however do have a bigger sole for more cushion.

Swanie

I had always been a Newton guy, for the past 5 years. Started to get some nagging "overuse" injuries and bought a pair of Hoka Bondi's just to have a pair to wear once in awhile. Now those once in while shoes are my go to shoes. The cushioning of Hokas allows me to run more often and longer without the impact. Now I switch off with a pair of Saucony Kinvara's. and have run much more without nagging injuries. Everyone is different, you just need to find what works for you. I recommend you wear to "different" styles of shoes and switch off from day to day to prevent wearing on the same tendons and ligaments the same way day after day.

ironmikega

Thanks for the feedback folks. I re-bought the same Brooks I've been wearing the last decade, and the newness alone felt better. Don't know if I'll switch, but sounds like a good opportunity to look at Newtons and Hokas when transitioning to the OS this year.

William Jenks

I'm a little late to the party, but I switched to Newtons about 5 years ago. It DEFINITELY was a process that should be done carefully and gradually. Soft tissue pain in the calves and achilles area are both commonly reported. But this is a big part of their point...to transfer the pounding to soft tissue from the knees and hips. I would bet 10:1 that this is why the retailer reported what he did - bad transitioning.

FWIW, I am very happy with my Newtons. They last forever and have helped my stride considerably. I now rotate a couple of different models of them, but for a long time did not and had no problems. I occasionally run in some relatively minimalist (but not extreme) Zoot shoes. I nearly always use the Zoots for short races (they are some of the ones built with elastic laces) and more often than not for treadmill work.

GMAN 19030

Most podiatrists and orthos I have ever met or read comments on ST or some running sites generally think Newtons are a bad idea but they welcome the free business.

That stated, I ran a ton in Newtons and never had any issue. Hokas are just 4,000,000 times better. :-)