Knee pain caused by shoes?

Shifu · Mar 6, 2017

Hey there,
I started again after a break of a few years and my old Mizuno Wave Drive 4 had to be replaced. So I got the Adidas Adizero table tennis shoes on super sale for only 20 euros (back then costed 100+). They are nice, super light and the comfort is okay for a shoe of its weight but I have had some knee pain in the last 2 weeks on the right side (right handed player). Could this be because of my shoes? The new Adizero really has zero dampening I think, at least that's what it feels like and I have my weight on my right foot when I play topspin for example. The first weeks it was okay but in the last 2 it started to pain. I will take a break today and will only play on Friday and ordered the new Mizuno Wave Drive, will see how this works out.
I have also started doing hamstring stretches, I sit a lot during the day and I read that hamstrings influence your knees.
Anyone ever had this issue?

This is the model:

Pandaboii97 · Mar 6, 2017

i don't think knee pain are due to shoes. it could be that your tighs are not strong enough...

Shifu · Mar 6, 2017

Hmm I do lots of other sports so I think it's probably not my strength, I could be more flexible tho and do more stretching. I weight 76 KG and never had this before any other time or in any other sport.

Pandaboii97 · Mar 6, 2017

when you run do you experience knee pain? aka runner knees

Shifu · Mar 6, 2017

I sometimes go for a run but have not in the last two weeks, never had any knee issues before. Pain came when playing table tennis and stayed for a day or two. I last played on friday, had knee pain. Haven't done sports since then and it's gone.

Amayzde · Mar 6, 2017

Sounds like you stand flat-footed when you play. You should try to play a little more on your toes ;-)

Shifu · Mar 6, 2017

That is actually something I should do more. So this would distribute the weight better? I will try it out

Baal · Mar 6, 2017

It can definitely come from shoes. Not saying it is in your case but it can happen.

Archosaurus · Mar 6, 2017

Fabian said:
That is actually something I should do more. So this would distribute the weight better? I will try it out

I don't think it's so much weight distribution as it is using the springiness of your foot to absorb the impact so you don't get a lot of force traveling up your leg into your knee and spine.

ttmonster · Mar 6, 2017

From my experience , it has happened from shoes but only from older shoes where the insoles / soles have gotten worn out or from really thin soled shoes like Mizuno Wave drive . it should not happen from new shoes .
But then I am 215 pounds with knee injury on my left knee which has caused some problem on my right knee as well ... and I noticed what exacerbated the problem ... I would say what you can do is use one of your other sports shoes and give it a shot for a session , that should tell you if you need shoes with better support.

Baal · Mar 6, 2017

If the shoes cause your feet to pronate more or less, it could cause stress on knees even if the shoes are new. Also, it depends on how much intrinsic cushioning there might be. It could definitely be cause by the new shoes. But it could definitely be caused by something else. One way to know is to try different shoes.

UpSideDownCarl · Mar 6, 2017

Yep. There are so many rotational forces in TT that the knee issue could come from any number of things.

It is possible that it could be the shoes. But it is much more likely that the rotational force of a loop done just slightly too much for your knee or planting at a bad angle could have caused the issue. Really, there are dozens of TT specific movements that cause the sport to be hard on the knees.

However, if you have an intuition that it was from the shoes, it is worth exploring and testing the theory. You already have been given some ideas for how to test it from previous comments.

I hope you knee recovers full and fast. And stays recovered.

Sent from The Subterranean Workshop by Telepathy

Shifu · Mar 6, 2017

Thanks a lot for your advices! The shoes came to my mind first because it's the only thing that changed (except my age but I'm still in my 20s). I will post after trying out the new shoes

ttmonster · Mar 6, 2017

If you are planning to change shoes , I would say go for indoor soccer or volleyball shoes , specifically those that have more cushioning , comparing with another brand of table tennis shoes might not provide you with enough change to compare ...

Fabian said:
Thanks a lot for your advices! The shoes came to my mind first because it's the only thing that changed (except my age but I'm still in my 20s). I will post after trying out the new shoes

Shifu · Mar 6, 2017

Thanks but I already ordered Mizunos, had them years ago and I loved them. Only got the Adizeros instead because they were 20 Euros new!

laistrogian · Mar 7, 2017

I believe having a proper support on the show helps with comfort but the effect to knee pain isn't that big or non existent.

First off, ask your coach or better players if you have a proper footwork. I used to get knee pain after everytime I play, once so sever I was limping on one foot for 3 days. What I was doing wrong at the time was how I keep on rotating my knee too much and as a 220lbs overweight guy, it took the toll.

I slowly try to fix my footwork and now it's much better and the pain only happens seldomly when I'm playing too much

Jaffar Lone · Mar 7, 2017

Your issue could be with the shoes. Might want to try something else in shoes, also please discuss this with your table tennis coach if you have any. Many times a pro can give better advice on issues like these.

sanavasaraja · Mar 7, 2017

A friend of mine recently had some knee problems due to the soles of his shoes being too "adherent"/sticky. When turning the hip while looping etc. they were cemented in place with 0 give, thus putting a lot of stress on the knees. Shoes should provide you with good grip, but shouldn't be glued to the ground. This goes hand in hand with not playing flat-footed. As pointed out above, balancing your weight on the front of your foot among many other benefits gives you greater mobility, meaning also the ability to turn properly without tearing on any ligaments. It releases stress from your knee, but puts more on your ankles.

VicVoc32 · Mar 7, 2017

Baal said:
It can definitely come from shoes. Not saying it is in your case but it can happen.

I agree. Knee pain often comes from wrong technique or wrong shoes.

Tpackk · Mar 7, 2017

Wrong shoes can be one of the reasons.

You can try Gel Insoles

Knee pain caused by shoes?

Active Member

Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Well-Known Member

Active Member

Active Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads