Effects of footwear with different longitudinal bending stiffness on biomechanical characteristics and muscular mechanics of lower limbs in adolescent runners

Abstract

Background: Running shoes with carbon plates have been identified to have positive effects on improving running performance from a biomechanical perspective. However, the specific difference between the effects of carbon plates with different longitudinal bending stiffness (LBS)on biomechanical characteristics and muscular mechanics of lower limbs in adolescent runners remains unclear. This study aimed to identify the difference in biomechanical characteristics and muscular mechanics in lower limbs during running stance phases between wearing shoes with low longitudinal bending stiffness (Llbs) and high longitudinal bending stiffness (Hlbs) carbon plates in adolescent runners.Methods: 10 male adolescent runners with a habit of daily running exercise (age: 13.5 ± 0.6 years; height: 166.3 ± 1.9 cm; bodyweight: 50.8 ± 3.1 kg; foot length: 25.4 ± 0.2 cm) were recruited and asked to conduct two times of tests by wearing shoes with Llbs and Hlbs carbon plates in a randomized order. Paired t-test and statistical parametric mapping (SPM) analysis were used to identify the difference in biomechanical characteristics and muscular mechanics in lower limbs during running stance phases.Result: Under the condition of wearing shoes with Hlbs, the time of foot contact significantly increased, whereas the range of motion (ROM) of hip and metatarsophalangeal (MTP) in the sagittal plane significantly reduced as well as the peak moment of ankle joint in the sagittal plane. The activations of vastus medialis, vastus lateralis, flexor digitorum brevis (flex dig brevis), and flexor hallucis longus (flex hall long) significantly increased under the condition of wearing shoes with Hlbs. According to the results of the SPM analysis, the joint angles (hip, ankle, and MTP), the net joint moments (knee, ankle, and MTP), and the muscle forces (gluteus maximus and tibialis anterior) were significant difference during the running stance phase between conditions of wearing shoes with Hlbs and Llbs.Conclusion: Running shoes with Llb carbon plates are appropriate for adolescent runners due to the advantages of biomechanical characteristics and muscular mechanics.

Biomechanical Investigation of Lower Limbs during Slope Transformation Running with Different Longitudinal Bending Stiffness Shoes

“…Shoes with low stiffness offer less foot support than shoes with high stiffness, leading to amateur runners having difficulty controlling the stability of the knee joint. Additionally, significant differences in the range of motion of the metatarsophalangeal joints were found, and the range of motion of the metatarsophalangeal joints of amateur runners decreases as the LBS increases [ 32 ]. Shoes with higher LBS will limit the range of motion of the joint.…”

Running Velocity and Longitudinal Bending Stiffness Influence the Asymmetry of Kinematic Variables of the Lower Limb Joints

“…All participants were allowed three trials to familiarize themselves with the test maneuvers before the formal test. During the test, participants were asked to wear Shoe 1 (S1), Shoe 2 (S2) and Shoe 3 (S3) at 10 ± 5% km/h (V1), 12 ± 5% km/h (V2) and 14 ± 5% km/h (V3), respectively, over a 10 m track [ 5 , 11 , 15 , 27 ]. The shoe information is shown in Table 1 .…”

“…The fast development of footwear technology has increased awareness of LBS. The majority of studies have also found a link between LBS and sports injuries [ 1 , 4 , 5 ]. Increasing the forefoot bending stiffness of footwear may help with injury prevention in particular by preventing excessive forefoot extension during sports activities to reduce the incidence of injuries such as turf toe [ 4 ].…”

A Comparative Analysis of Bionic and Neutral Shoes: Impact on Lower Limb Kinematics and Kinetics during Varied-Speed Running

“…Furthermore, all participants were free from running injuries, neuromuscular disorders, and lower limb defects in the previous six months. They had all been informed of the experimental protocol and signed a consent form, and ethical approval for this study was granted by the Ethical Institutional Review Board of Ningbo University, Ningbo University [20].…”