Individual - specific determinants of successful adaptation to minimal and maximal running shoes

Introduction Minimalist shoes have been touted as a panacea for preventing running-related injuries, although evidence is inconclusive (Ryan et al., 2013). Maximalist shoes, with greater than normal midsole thickness have been introduced in response, but little work has investigated their success in preventing injuries. For both maximal and minimal footwear, it is likely that the wholesale approach to prescription has limited their successful adoption. Prescription of traditional running footwear often relies on the paradigm of pronation, although this is ineffective for preventing injuries (Nielsen et al., 2014). We hypothesize that individual-specific characteristics, other than pronation, such as dynamic foot stiffness, should be considered for prescribing running footwear.