A study of 68 volunteers running on treadmills found that those wearing high-end running shoes put more strain on their joints than those running barefoot. Not only that, researchers found that running in athletic shoes put more stress on joints than walking in high heels. The study is thought-provoking but hardly conclusive. Surprisingly, given all the R & D that seems to go into producing high-tech training shoes, there’s been little independent research into what’s the best footwear. As well, people tend to change their running style when they go shoeless, and measuring the forces on joints is difficult.