Does Specific Footwear Facilitate Energy Storage and Return at the Metatarsophalangeal Joint in Running?

Willwacher, Steffen; König, Manuel; Potthast, Wolfgang; Brüggemann, Gert–Peter

doi:10.1123/jab.29.5.583

Cited by 108 publications

(94 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…During running, as the bending stiffness of the footwear is increased, the center of pressure under the foot will be shifted anteriorly [46,47]. This anterior shift of the ground reaction force will alter the moment arm to the ankle, knee, and hip joint of the athletes, with a more pronounced effect at the distal joints (i.e., ankle joint).…”

Section: Forefoot Stiffnessmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…Therefore, one possible mechanism of a performance benefit is that increasing forefoot stiffness results in a reduction of the energy loss at the MTP joint during joint extension [41,43,45,46] and/or by an increase in energy return at the MTP joint during joint flexion immediately before the instant of takeoff during stance [45,46]. Although this net change in energy has been shown to be relatively small (less than 1 J), if the net work done by the joint is minimally increased for each footfall during a run, this small energy savings may become substantial after many steps.…”

Section: Forefoot Stiffnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biomechanics research and sport equipment development

Stefanyshyn

Wannop

2015

Sports Eng

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Advances in sport equipment have revolutionized athletic competition with engineers developing equipment that can enhance performance. However, not all athletes are able to benefit from the new, ideal equipment, with some athletes performing worse. Although the engineering may be sound, the interaction between the piece of equipment, the athlete, and the action is missing. The purely mechanical system of the piece of equipment becomes a biomechanical system once it is interacting with the athlete. Research into the underlying mechanisms of performance in sport has relied heavily on biomechanical studies. The review of these studies has identified important performance and injury variables that can be influenced by sport equipment. This baseline information helps provide a fundamental understanding of human performance that guide equipment designers and developers. A flawlessly engineered mechanical piece of sport equipment can still fail if the athlete-equipment interaction is not properly addressed in the design process. How an athlete uses a piece of equipment and furthermore how an athlete may change or adapt to changes in properties of a piece of equipment must be taken into consideration. Using properties of footwear as an example, research has provided understanding of the biomechanical limiting factors regarding the influence of footwear traction on athletic performance. Data on other footwear properties such as cushioning and forefoot bending stiffness are limited. Intrinsic musculoskeletal properties, such as the forcelength and force-velocity relationships of skeletal muscle, can be exploited through equipment design, as has been shown during cycling. Modifications to equipment parameters can shift the operating range of an athlete within these relationships to maximize force or power output, which was shown during the development of the clap skate. Additionally, these properties vary slightly from athlete to athlete and minor adjustments to a piece of sporting equipment can help optimize individual athletes according to their specific biomechanical characteristics.

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Section: Forefoot Stiffnessmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Forefoot Stiffnessmentioning

confidence: 99%

Biomechanics research and sport equipment development

Stefanyshyn

Wannop

2015

Sports Eng

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“…It seems more likely that elastic materials in shoes increase the bending elasticity in the forefoot region which can influence GRF lever arms of lower extremity joints during the push-off phase (Willwacher, König, Braunstein, Goldmann, & Brüggemann, 2014); in other words, lowering energy consumption at a specific speed (Roy & Stefanyshyn, 2006). In addition, modifying the forefoot design of shoes facilitates the enhancement of athletic performance (Tinoco et al, 2010;Willwacher et al, 2013). However, designs with increased bending elasticity in the forefoot region of shoes cannot achieve a substantial amount of propulsive push-off impulse, possibly because higher bending elasticity in shoes increases the propulsive push-off force during walking and jogging while reducing the push-off time.…”

Section: Speedsmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…However, other studies have indicated that increasing the bending elasticity of shoe soles does not enhance jumping performance (Toon, Vinet, Pain, & Caine, 2011). Studies on forefoot designs have typically focused on increasing the insole stiffness (Tinoco et al, 2010;Willwacher, König, Potthast, & Brüggemann, 2013). This type of design might also increase the forefoot pressure and the contact between the foot portion and the elastic material might reduce deformation of the material and consequently constrain its ductility.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Effects of forefoot bending elasticity of running shoes on gait and running performance

Chen

Liu

et al. 2014

Human Movement Science

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The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of forefoot bending elasticity of running shoes on kinetics and kinematics during walking and running. Twelve healthy male participants wore normal and elastic shoes while walking at 1.5m/s, jogging at 2.5m/s, and running at 3.5m/s. The elastic shoes were designed by modifying the stiffness of flexible shoes with elastic bands added to the forefoot part of the shoe sole. A Kistler force platform and Vicon system were used to collect kinetic and kinematic data during push-off. Electromyography was used to record the muscle activity of the medial gastrocnemius and medial tibialis anterior. A paired dependent t-test was used to compare the various shoes and the level of significance was set at α=.05. The range of motion of the ankle joint and the maximal anterior-posterior propulsive force differed significantly between elastic and flexible shoes in walking and jogging. The contact time and medial gastrocnemius muscle activation in the push-off phase were significantly lower for the elastic shoes compared with the flexible shoes in walking and jogging. The elastic forefoot region of shoes can alter movement characteristics in walking and jogging. However, for running, the elasticity used in this study was not strong enough to exert a similar effect.

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“…The last in the Type A shoes used in the study was designed on the basis of the sprint spike developed for a short-distance track in a previous study while using a hard material for the sole. Willwacher, König, Potthast and Brüggemann (2013) and Willwacher, König, Braunstein, Goldmann and Brüggemann (2014) have reported that the outsole and midsole with a high hardness in the forefoot region are effective not only in restricting movements of the metatarsophalangeal joint during running but also in returning energy to gain propulsion during running.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%