Isolated effects of footwear structure and cushioning on running mechanics in habitual mid/forefoot runners

ABSTRACT

The true differences between barefoot and shod running are difficult to directly compare because of the concomitant change to a mid/forefoot footfall pattern that typically occurs during barefoot running. The purpose of this study was to compare isolated effects of footwear structure and cushioning on running mechanics in habitual mid/forefoot runners running shod (SHOD), barefoot (BF), and barefoot on a foam surface (BF+FOAM). Ten habitually shod mid/forefoot runners were recruited (male = 8, female = 2). Repeated measures ANOVA (α = 0.05) revealed differences between conditions for only vertical peak active force, contact time, negative and total ankle joint work, and peak dorsiflexion angle. Post hoc tests revealed that BF+FOAM resulted in smaller vertical active peak magnitude and instantaneous vertical loading rate than SHOD. SHOD resulted in lower total ankle joint work than BF and BF+FOAM. BF+FOAM resulted in lower negative ankle joint work than either BF or SHOD. Contact time was shorter with BF than BF+FOAM or SHOD. Peak dorsiflexion angle was smaller in SHOD than BF. No other differences in sagittal joint kinematics, kinetics, or ground reaction forces were observed. These overall similarities in running mechanics between SHOD and BF+FOAM question the effects of footwear structure on habituated mid/forefoot running described previously.

KEYWORDS:

• Barefoot running
• footfall pattern
• foot strike
• running gait mechanics
• impact forces

Acknowledgments

EVA foam mats provided by Brooks Sports, Inc., Seattle, WA (USA). A preliminary analysis of this study was presented at the 2014 World Congress on Biomechanics. The authors thank Mr. Perry Battles for his assistance with data processing for the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

The author(s) reported there is no funding associated with the work featured in this article.