Acute Effects of Different Cushioned Footwear on the Biomechanics of Running

The purpose of this study was to investigate how different footwear (highly cushioned, standard, minimalist shoes) affect peak ground reaction forces, average loading rates and joint kinematics during running. Nine participants ran at a self-selected speed across all shod conditions, minimalist, highly cushioned and standard running shoe. Vicon Nexus was used to analyze joint kinematics of the ankle and knee, a Bertec Instrumented Treadmill was used to analyze the average loading rate and peak ground reaction forces. Results show consist of reductions in ankle and knee joint motion in the minimalist shoe during the stance phase with the standard and highly cushioned shoe being more similar to each other. Evidence suggests that a change in footwear alone, at least in the short-term, will not reducing injury rates in runners.