Running is great exercise, and a fantastic way to stay in good shape at all times of your life. The major downside of running, however, is its impact on your joints. Running is high-impact cardio, meaning that running a lot can rack up damage to your joints over the years. That’s why it is never too early to find the best running shoe for joint support that you can. This lets you run with confidence that you are mitigating the impact as much as you can.
I want to help everyone on their personal wellness journey, using my background in fitness and medicine to help people from all walks of life. Having the right equipment is one side of the coin, and on the other side, there’s how you take care of your body. Ensuring you have the right complement of vitamins, minerals, and other nutrients can help keep your joints healthy and you running pain-free for many years.
I believe that finding the right combination of equipment and daily routine is paramount to keeping your joints healthy while running regularly. In this article, I will discuss:
- Best running shoes for joint support
- What causes joint pain
- How you can keep your joints healthy
Running Shoes for Joint Support
Joint pain can dissuade even the most avid runner from going on a quick jog. Having the right shoe for your pain can work wonders for your pain. There are so many shoes out there, that finding the right pair is a daunting task. Here are some of our favorite running shoes for joint support, and what they bring to the table.
Asics GT-2000 9
These shoes are built for heel-shock absorption. The heel strikes the ground first when you are running, sending the shock of that impact up your leg and into your knee. That shock wears down your cartilage and can cause knee pain during and after the run. The Asics GT-2000 9 are built to absorb as much of the shock from the heel strike as they can so less of it travels up your leg and into your knee.
New Balance 860v11
The New Balance 860v11 is a great choice for people who are experiencing some joint pain and who run regularly. These shoes are well balanced, with support spread all throughout the shoe. The Asics have its support focused on the heel, while these shoes have it spread out all throughout the shoe. These New Balance shoes are versatile and can be worn for runs and walks.
Brooks Launch GTS 8
The Brooks Launch GTS 8 are shoes crafted to be the perfect fit. They accomplish this by adding a lot of cushioning along the sole and flexible sides so your feet are secured throughout your entire run. Ill-fitting shoes are a big cause of joint pain, as your joints and tendons have to work harder to correct your footfalls when your feet are slipping and sliding around in your shoes.
HOKA Bondi 7
The HOKE Bondi 7 shoes are a paradise of cushioning. They’ve maximized their cushioning and support, making these shoes a spectacular choice for those with bad joint pain.
Nike React Infinity Run Flyknit 2
The Nike React Infinity Run Flyknit 2 is an excellent choice for running shoes, even if the name is a bit of a mouthful. These shoes are best for people who experience overpronation when they walk or run. Overpronation can cause the arches of your feet to flatten, which leads to stress on muscles, tendons, and ligaments in your leg. These shoes have strong support and a curved arch insole, helping you with your gait while remaining a comfortable fit.
Brooks Beast 20
The Brooks Beast 20 provides support to mitigate joint pain in your feet, knees, and back. Its cushion works to hold your foot securely while remaining a comfortable fit.
Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21
The Brooks Adrenaline GTS 21 is an all-around great choice for mitigating joint pain. It has heel-strike shock absorption, cushioning all throughout, and lots of arch support. This shoe also helps keep you balanced when walking or running.
Saucony Hurricane 23
The Saucony Hurricane 23 are some of the most comfortable pairs of shoes out there. These shoes provide support to your joints with ample cushioning and a firm hold while prioritizing the comfort of your feet while you run. If you’ve been feeling like your shoes are more like prisons than beds, then the Saucony Hurricane 23s are the shoe for you.
ASICS GEL-Kayano 27
The Asics Gel-Kayano 27 are the lightest shoes on this list and have a great shape to keep your strides light and rhythmic. Their sole is engineered to push you forward with every step that you take, helping your strides stay long and consistent.
Nike Zoom Winflo 8 Running Shoe
The Nike Zoom Winflo 8 Running Shoes have serious cushioning and support in the insole. These sneakers specialize in stability. Stability sneakers help the leg stay properly aligned and balanced whilst running and walking to mitigate joint pain.
What Causes Joint Pain?
Joint pain and discomfort is felt all throughout the body and can manifest at all levels of intensity. It is natural for people to feel more joint pain as they age. Arthritis is more common in older people, and the body’s cartilage, which cushions the joins, naturally gets weaker with age. In addition to pain, joints can feel stiff or achy. Both are oftentimes alleviated by movement and activity, but too much can worsen the pain.
Shoes for seniors are designed to provide comfort, support, and safety for individuals with age-related foot conditions or mobility issues. These shoes often feature wider widths, deeper toe boxes, removable insoles for custom orthotics, adjustable straps, slip-resistant outsoles, and good arch support for stability. It's always best to consult with a healthcare professional or a shoe store specializing in seniors' footwear for personalized recommendations based on individual needs.
Running is one exercise that oftentimes worsens the pain, especially in lower-body joints. The thousands of impacts of your heel into the ground over the course of a run can exacerbate previous pain when not treated correctly.
Medical Conditions that Affect Joints
Some causes of joint pain are chronic, where you can work to alleviate the pain, but the source of it will remain. Others are directly tied to an injury or illness, which can be completely alleviated with the right routine of care and nutrition.
- Osteoarthritis is a common cause of joint pain. This occurs when the cartilage between bones wears away, causing bone-on-bone contact within your body. This leads to the pain of increasing severity as the cartilage wears away further.
- Rheumatoid arthritis is another disease that causes swelling and pain in your joints.
- Gout is another condition that causes swelling and pain in the joints.
- Tendinitis is an inflammation of the tendons, which can cause severe pain in the affected joint.
These conditions and diseases are very serious causes of joint pain and require medical treatment to alleviate. There are, however, many causes of joint pain that are less severe but can still take all of the pep out of your step when you are out running.
Injuries Have Long-Lasting Effects on the Body
Broken bones, torn tendons, and sprains can cause long-lasting damage to the affected area. There can be complications during the healing process, or the area could be weaker even after recovery. These can all compound as we age and cause joint pain later in life.
Ways to Alleviate Joint Pain
There are a plethora of ways to alleviate joint pain, sometimes eliminating it altogether. Just as joint pain comes from a variety of places, there are a wide variety of treatment plans to counteract it. Joint pain varies significantly in severity, meaning treatments that help minor joint pain will not affect severe joint pain the same way. Fortunately, a lot of the treatments for minor joint pain increase the body’s overall health and wellness as well.
Medical Treatment Helps Alleviate Serious Pain
As there are no methods to cure joint pain, doctors often work with patients to find a plan that alleviates as much of the pain as possible. Cortisone shots are one way to provide short-term relief, but they should only be used after going down every other avenue. Physical supports are a common treatment, which is braces and canes, but, as a runner, you don’t want to go around wearing a brace or using a cane!
For mild to moderate joint pain, a lot of physical and nutritional plans can be enacted in order to bring you back up to full speed.
Get the Nutrients You Need for Your Body to Function at 100%
One of my products, Multi Collagen Plus, has a big dose of collagen, biotin, and vitamin D that work together to alleviate bone and joint pain among other benefits. Supplements can, well, supplement other treatments to increase the effectiveness of the recovery. The human body needs a lot of vitamins and minerals to complete all of its various tasks and keep working at 100%, but it is very challenging to get everything your body needs each day of the week.
For people with joint pain, Dr. Emil Nutrition’s Multi Collagen Plus supplement carries a lot of great nutrients to help the body. Vitamin D helps the body efficiently absorb calcium, which is one of the body’s bone building blocks. Having enough calcium in your diet helps keep your bones healthy and strong, which can help alleviate joint pain.
Collagen is an essential nutrient in the body. There are a bunch of different types of collagen, but for all intents and purposes, the four major kinds of collagen have the biggest impact on your bone and joint health.
- Type I collagen helps the body’s bones, skin, and cartilage stay strong. Over 90% of the body’s collagen is type I, and its ability to strengthen the body’s cartilage helps alleviate joint pain when you’re running. With strong cartilage, the impacts from striking the ground while running will cause less pain.
- Type II collagen helps build loose fibers that cushion your joints, alleviating the pain from bones hitting one another. The benefit of this in your diet is obvious!
- Type III collagen supports the structure of your muscles, organs, and arteries. Having strong muscles helps support the joints, especially when you are exercising.
- Type IV collagen is found in the skin, helping strengthen each layer. This doesn't have much of an effect on your joints, but it is good for you!
Getting enough collagen in your diet is a great way to alleviate joint pain from running. These types strengthen your cartilage and keep your bones healthy. A supplement like multi collagen plus is a great addition to your current form of treatment.
Find a Physical Routine that Supports Joint Recovery
While supplements can provide nutrients key to recovery, one of the best roads to recovery comes from physical therapy. Stretching, eating right, and performing targeted exercises allow your body to use the nutrients you are giving it to create an environment where your joints hurt less, even at the end of a long run.
The key to any physical therapy is consistency. The effect of a 15 to 30-minute routine each day on your joint health in even just two months is unbelievable. Creating a routine that you can follow each day, regardless of your treatment plan, is paramount to the health of your joints.
Adding a supplement to your routine should always be preceded by talking to your primary care provider. While the ingredients in multi collagen plus are natural vitamins and minerals, in such concentrated quantities they may have harmful interactions with other medications or conditions you are experiencing.
