Matching the shape of the shoe to the shape of the foot would cut the number of injuries, she said. It would be a public service if the bigger sports shoe companies would make their anatomical data public so other manufacturers could use it, Cavanagh said.
Companies are loathe to do that.
They figure they paid for what they know, they get a competitive advantage from it, and they will keep it. Mass. As a former world-competitive runner, she knows what a difference the right shoe makes, Barbano said. When she started running, in the late '70s, women had to run in men's shoes because women's sports shoes were not available, Barbano said. The companies say they base continual improvements on their research. Cavanagh and Dalton counter that they could prove it by revealing their data.