The Myth of the Orthopedic Belt and Cushioning System
The Myth of the Orthopedic Belt and Cushioning System
If you're afraid that running on a treadmill will damage your knees, you have every reason to be. Even though a well cushioned treadmill is said to be better than your knees than running outdoors on the concrete, it still inflicts a certain level of damage. (You might consider an elliptical as a highly effective cardio alternative.) So what can you do to protect your knees if you want to run? In recent years, treadmill companies have been enticing buyers with a little something called the orthopedic belt.
I will be the first to say that you should get the best piece of equipment that you can afford for your body. Money is replaceable but your body is not. If you damage it, it might never heal properly no matter how much you pay. So following this line of logic, the most logical thing to do is to get a treadmill with the best orthopedic belt and/or cushioning system. So what should you look for in an orthopedic belt or a cushioning system?
Common sense tells us that not all belts and cushioning systems are made equal since there’s no industry standard measurement that tells us exactly how soft the belt and cushioning is. In fact, even motors with their horsepower ratings do not accurately represent their quality as we discuss in our article on treadmill motors. So how do you tell whether a treadmill comes with a decent or not so decent belt/cushioning system? Two ways actually but before we get to that, let’s take a look at how you should NOT judge a treadmill’s softness?
Here are three treadmills with three different shock absorption systems. Each system either belongs to a treadmill that is priced at $750, $1500 or $2000. Can you guess which cushioning system belongs to which price?
My guess is you'll likely guess wrong. If I didn't have the answers in front of me, I might have reasoned that the "ComfortStep™ Impact Reducing Cushioning" belongs to the $2000 treadmill since it's the most expensive. The "6-point deck suspension" sounds somewhat generic so it probably belongs to the cheapest treadmill. Finally, this leaves us with the "Bodyguard’s Shock Dissipation System" which also sounds somewhat professional so it goes with the $1500 by process of elimination.
I would have been dead wrong in all three cases.
The correct answer is as follows:
So what does this tell us? Well, for one, the name means absolutely nothing. Each brand calls its cushioning system different things - some sounding scientific, others more generic. Using the name of the system to determine its quality is about as poor of an indicator as it gets.
METHOD 1: COMMON SENSE
Believe it or not, the best way to determine if the cushioning system is of high quality is by running on it. You want something that feels smooth and soft which is directly opposite of what you feel when you run on the pavement. Personal testing to determine a treadmill's comfort level is one of the most reliable methods. Plain Jane common sense really.
METHOD 2: PRICE
The second thing you can do to determine quality is by looking at the price. A general trend is that higher priced items come with better quality products. So generally, the more expensive the treadmill, the better the cushioning system. This is more or less common sense too.
METHOD 3: RATINGS
When treadmills are priced similarly, the above method breaks down. Since not companies are equal, their cushioning systems are also not created as well even if their prices are the same. This is why if you’re ever in doubt as to the quality of the cushioning system, you should just take a look at what cushioning rating treadmilldoctor.com gave to the treadmills you’re interested in.
All the methods above are just common sense really. In the end, unless you’ve got considering treadmills with large variations in price (such as a $3000 vs a $1000), their cushioning is not going to be night and day. If you’re that worried about the damaging effects of a treadmill, an elliptical is really your best friend.
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