Influence of different footwear on force of landing during running.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Previous studies have demonstrated an increase in foot pronation with mileage in runners. Motion control footwear was designed to check excessive foot motions, but its clinical efficacy, especially in terms of pedographic analysis, has not been well reported. The purposes of this study were to investigate the changes in plantar force in people when running with motion control shoes and to compare pedographic measurements obtained in 2 footwear testing conditions (wearing motion control shoes and wearing neutral shoes) at the beginning and end of a 1.5-km running session.

SUBJECTS

Twenty-five recreational runners who had > or = 6 degrees of foot pronation participated in the study.

METHODS

An insole sensor was used to register the plantar force of the subjects before and after running 1.5 km in different shoe conditions.

RESULTS

There was no change in the magnitude and distribution pattern of plantar force with the motion control shoes after the 1.5-km run. With the neutral shoes, however, there was an increase in mean peak force under the medial midfoot (364-418 N, 15% increase) and first metatarsal head (524-565 N, 8% increase) toward the end of the running bout.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The plantar force on the medial foot structures increased with mileage of running with neutral shoes but not with motion control shoes. This finding has implications for injury prevention with footwear selection for recreational runners who have more than 6 degrees of foot pronation.