Background: The rise in popularity of running since 1970s has brought about the development of running shoes. The latter are based on foot arch shape, which can be high, normal or low, and are divided into cushioned, stability and motion control shoe types. Despite the constant development of running shoes, the incidence of injuries is still as high as 79.3%, with the knees and the ankles being the most affected. Risk factors can be clustered into the following domains: personal, running, health and lifestyle related factors. Running related injuries are therefore multifactorial. Objectives: The aim is to determine how the running shoes when in connection to risk factors increase the risk of running related injuries of the lower limb in the instance of recreational runners. Methods: Twelve articles were included into the review. CINAHL, MEDLINE and Cochrane Library were searched for relevant articles. Main results: Several factors such as the choice of appropriate running shoes based on foot arch shape, the use of more pairs of running shoes, new running shoes, practicing more sports, minimalistic footwear, orthotic insoles, EVA (Ethylen Vinyl Acetate) midsole and modification of running parameters, can affect the incidence of running related injuries. Conclusion: The choice of the appropriate running shoes is multifactorial. Manipulating with the main mentioned factors lowers the risk of injuries. Despite that, there is no single applicable rule to the choice of the running shoes.
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