Acute effects of footwear on running impact loading in the preschool years

Abstract

BackgroundPrevious research indicated that running barefoot or in minimalist shoes led to lower impact loading in an adolescent and adult population. Running as fundamental locomotor skill signi cantly develops during early childhood (preschool age). However, no study has focused on effect of footwear condition on lower limb impact loading during running in this age. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess effect of footwear conditions (barefoot, minimalist and standard running shoes) on running impact loading in the preschool years. MethodsFourty-eight habitually shod preschool children were divided into 4 age groups. Children performed simple running game in 3 different footwear conditions (random counter-balanced order), 3-dimensional biomechanical analysis were carried out during overground running. The key dependent variables included vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) and vertical instantaneous loading rate (VILR). Statistical parametric mapping was performed to reveal possible differences in VGRF and one-way repeated measures ANOVA in VILR. ResultsThree-year-old children displayed signi cantly lower impact peak of VGRF in barefoot condition compared to minimalist (3-7% stance, P = 0.012) and standard running shoes (7-11% stance, P = 0.009). Furthermore, in 3-year-old in minimalist shoes had higher loading than in standard running shoes (0-4% stance, P = 0.007). There were also differences in VILR, where 3-year-old had lower loading in barefoot than in minimalist (P = 0.010, d = 1.19) or standard running shoes (P = 0.045, d = 0.98). No differences were found in older children. ConclusionRunning in minimalist shoes did not imitate barefoot running and did not lower impact forces compared to standard running shoes in 3-year-old children. On the contrary, increased loading was observed in minimalist shoes in early running developmental stages. Professionals who work with children should consider effect of minimalist shoes on impact loading (running on hard surfaces).

WITHDRAWN: Four weeks minimalist shoe walking improves measures of foot posture and balance in healthy young adults – a randomized controlled trial

“…(1) Altered loading: walking in MS changes walking pattern and biomechanics, which includes an altered foot strike, a decrease of step length and an increase of cadence 27 . Participants wearing MS during walking and running adapt to various surfaces by adjusting their overall leg stiffness, which leads to an increase in vertical ground reaction force 5,27,50 . Further, the altered foot mechanics (i.e., more natural) also affects more proximal regions of the leg (e.g.…”

A four-week minimalist shoe walking intervention influences foot posture and balance in young adults–a randomized controlled trial

“…An altered loading might explain these remote effects during running observed by prior studies [ 33 , 35 ], as running in MS changes walking patterns and biomechanics, which includes an altered foot strike, a decrease in step length, and an increase in cadence [ 39 ]. Participants wearing MS during walking and running adapt to various surfaces by adjusting their overall leg stiffness, which increases vertical ground reaction force [ 4 , 39 , 82 ]. The altered foot mechanics could also affect more proximal regions of the leg and might lead to altered muscle activation in these body areas [ 4 , 31 , 78 , 83 ].…”