“Government Plans to Ban Motion Control Shoes”

Okay, it’s just a hypothetical situation… but let’s play with this idea.

We know there’s emerging research exploring whether or not motion control shoes actually do anything, which Pete Larson summarizes nicely here. What happens if more research comes to the same conclusion?  What if it becomes apparent motion control shoes hurt people more than they help?

Would manufacturers continue to produce motion control shoes?  I suspect they would because:

1. Running specialty stores are having a hard time embracing minimalism and an even more difficult time accepting that the old shoe fitting paradigm is… well, useless.  If the shoes are available, running stores will keep recommending them to their customers.  This could be a moot point with the rise of online retailers, though, as they’re apparently excelling at meeting customer demand for minimalist shoes.  I digress.
2. Some people run in motion control shoes without problems.  As such, most will continue to run in them even if others get hurt.

There’s always a push to ban things that are deemed harmful, whether it be tobacco, guns, sugar, or french fries.  Most never comes to fruition, but the push is there.  You never know what government may ban next.  Hell, LA County just banned throwing frisbees and footballs on the beach.  Tossing a little plastic disc or a pigskin can now result in a $1,000 fine.

Could we see the same push with motion control shoes?  Imagine the Congressional hearings… Asics executives being questioned about the science behind their Gel Evolutions or Reebok being grilled about the girth of the Beast.  I just might have to start watching C-Span.

What do you think?  Could we see a future call to ban motion control shoes?

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