This present review includes a systematic search for peer-reviewed articles published between March 2009 and March 2020 that evaluated the effects of wearable devices with biofeedback on the biomechanics of running. The included articles did not focus on physiological and metabolic metrics. Articles with patients, animals, orthoses, exoskeletons and virtual reality were not included. Following the PRISMA guidelines, 417 articles were first identified, and nineteen were selected following the removal of duplicates and articles which did not meet the inclusion criteria. Most reviewed articles reported a significant reduction in positive peak acceleration, which was found to be related to tibial stress fractures in running. Some previous studies provided biofeedback aiming to increase stride frequencies. They produced some positive effects on running, as they reduced vertical load in knee and ankle joints and vertical displacement of the body and increased knee flexion. Some other parameters, including contact ground time and speed, were fed back by wearable devices for running. Such devices reduced running time and increased swing phase time. This article reviews challenges in this area and suggests future studies can evaluate the long-term effects in running biomechanics produced by wearable devices with biofeedback.

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Older adults walk with a shorter stride length, reduced hip range of motion (ROM) and higher cadence. These are signs of reductions in walking ability. This study investigated whether using a wireless smart insole system that monitored and provided biofeedback to encourage an extension of swing time could increase stride length and hip flexion, while reducing the cadence. Seven older adults were tested in this study, with and without the biofeedback device, in an outdoor environment. Gait analysis was performed by using GaitRite system and Xsens MVN. Repeated measures analysis demonstrated that with biofeedback, the swing time increased by 6.45%, stride length by 4.52% and hip flexion by 14.73%, with statistical significance. It also decreased the cadence significantly by 5.5%. This study has demonstrated that this smart insole system modified positively the studied gait parameters in older adults and has the potential to improve their walking ability.

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