Effect of Heel Construction on Muscular Control Potential of the Ankle Joint in Running

Willwacher, Steffen; Potthast, Wolfgang; Konrad, Markus; Brüggemann, Gert–Peter

doi:10.1123/jab.29.6.740

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Such decreases in the ankle dorsiflexion angle at TD were also found in other studies (8,35) during the first 5 min of a 30-min run (corresponding approximately to the 1-km distance in our study), and this was independent of the shoe midsole thickness. The more pronounced ankle dorsiflexion angle at TD with shoe Cushion at the beginning of the run might be related to differences in rearfoot construction (12), midsole thickness, and heel–toe drop height (8,13,14,22). Although using a more dorsiflexed ankle angle at TD might allow for a greater-energy absorption by the foam materials of shoe Cushion , it might have led to a greater demand for the dorsiflexors of the ankle joint (i.e., mainly m. tibialis anterior) due to a greater leverage of the GRF (12,36,37).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The more pronounced ankle dorsiflexion angle at TD with shoe Cushion at the beginning of the run might be related to differences in rearfoot construction (12), midsole thickness, and heel–toe drop height (8,13,14,22). Although using a more dorsiflexed ankle angle at TD might allow for a greater-energy absorption by the foam materials of shoe Cushion , it might have led to a greater demand for the dorsiflexors of the ankle joint (i.e., mainly m. tibialis anterior) due to a greater leverage of the GRF (12,36,37). It is possible that the neuromuscular system tries to establish a balance between passive impact absorption and mechanical demand of the dorsiflexors of the ankle joint during the HAB phase during prolonged runs when wearing cushioned footwear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Next to habituation and fatigue, footwear can also affect the running kinematics and kinetics within the lower extremities (8,(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16). When assessed in an unfatigued state, running with minimal footwear (very flexible, reduced cushioning, drop height, and mass compared with cushioned running shoes) places a higher mechanical demand (higher joint torques, negative power, and work) on the plantar flexor muscle-tendon units in comparison to wearing more cushioned shoes (13,15,(17)(18)(19).…”

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confidence: 99%

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Running into Fatigue: The Effects of Footwear on Kinematics, Kinetics, and Energetics

Sanno¹,

Epro²,

Brüggemann³

et al. 2020

Medicine &Amp; Science in Sports &Amp; Exercise

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Purpose: Recent studies identified a redistribution of positive mechanical work from distal to proximal joints during prolonged runs, which might partly explain the reduced running economy observed with running-induced fatigue. Higher mechanical demand of plantar flexor muscle-tendon-units, e.g., through minimal footwear, can lead to an earlier onset of fatigue, which might affect the redistribution of lower extremity joint work during prolonged runs.Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a racing-flat and cushioned running shoe on the joint-specific contributions to lower extremity joint work during a prolonged fatiguing run.Methods: On different days, eighteen runners performed two 10-km runs with near-maximal effort in a racing-flat and a cushioned shoe on an instrumented treadmill synchronized with a motion-capture-system. Joint kinetics and kinematics were calculated at 13 pre-determined distances throughout the run. The effects of shoes, distance, and their interaction were analyzed using a two-factor repeated-measures ANOVA.Results: For both shoes, we found a redistribution of positive joint work from ankle (-6%) to knee (+3%) and hip (+3%) throughout the entire run. Negative ankle joint work was higher (p<0.01) with the racing-flat compared to the cushioned shoe. Initial differences in foot-strike patterns between shoes disappeared after 2 km of running distance. Conclusion:Irrespective of the shoe design, alterations in the running mechanics occurred in the first 2 km of the run, which might be attributed to the existence of a habituation rather than fatigue effect. While we did not find a difference between shoes in the fatigue-related redistribution of joint work from distal to more proximal joints, more systematical studies are needed to explore the effects of specific footwear design features.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Running into Fatigue: The Effects of Footwear on Kinematics, Kinetics, and Energetics

Sanno¹,

Epro²,

Brüggemann³

et al. 2020

Medicine &Amp; Science in Sports &Amp; Exercise

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“…Assessing joint kinematics and kinetics and lower extremity muscle activity during running has been important not only in the development of novel footwear 2,[10][11][12] but also in understanding the development and risk of injuries. [13][14][15] These time series are characterized by their cyclic patterns and often described by few discrete parameters, i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of different running shoes on treadmill running mechanics and muscle activity assessed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM)

et al. 2019

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Background. Difference in joint mechanics between running shoes are commonly assessed using discrete parameters, yet statistically significant differences in these parameters between shoes are often scarce with small effect sizes. Statistical parametric mapping (SPM) has been suggested as suitable method for analyzing one-dimensional data such as kinematic, kinetic or muscle intensity time series.Research question. The purpose of this study was to determine differences in treadmill running mechanics between novel running shoes using SPM.Methods. Joint kinematics, muscle activity and ground reaction force were assessed in 19 rearfoot runners in their own shoes and in two test shoes during treadmill running (test shoe 1: 13 distinct rubber elements in the outer sole, springboard within EVA midsole with posterior elements shifted anteriorly by approximately 1.5 cm; test shoe 2: 17 distinct EVA elements with conventional heel geometry). Joint kinematics were measured using an inertial sensor system, and ground reaction force was measured using an instrumented treadmill.Results. SPM analysis with repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant reductions in the ankle angle and in tibialis anterior, peroneus longus, vastus medialis and lateralis muscle activity during weight acceptance and in peroneus longus muscle activity during early and late swing and in semitendinosus muscle activity during late swing for the test shoes.Significant differences in muscle activity were observed in the interval of the main activity of the respective muscle. SPM on individual data revealed statistically significant and relevant within-subject differences between conditions in kinematic, muscle activity and ground reaction force patterns.Significance. Inertial sensor systems and SPM may provide an efficient way of detecting changes in joint mechanics between running shoes within runners. Detecting within-subject 3 differences in running mechanics between conditions not only requires statistical criteria but also criteria on the relevance of the magnitude of differences.

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“…Markers were placed on the upper of the shoes. In line with previous research (24,31,35), marker coordinates were filtered using a fourth order, recursive, digital Butterworth filter with a cut-off frequency of 20 Hz. Ground reactions force data were smoothed using the same filter, but with a cut-off frequency of 100 Hz.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 98%

Surface Stiffness and Footwear Affect the Loading Stimulus for Lower Extremity Muscles When Running

Willwacher

Fischer

Rohr³

et al. 2020

Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research

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Surface stiffness and footwear affect the loading stimulus for lower extremity muscles when running. J Strength Cond Res 36(1): 82-89, 2022-Running in minimal footwear or barefoot can improve foot muscle strength. Muscles spanning the foot and ankle joints have the potential to improve performance and to reduce overuse injury risk. Surface stiffness or footwear use could modify the intensity of training stimuli acting on lower extremity joints during running. The purpose of this study was to systematically investigate external ankle, knee, and hip joint moments during shod and barefoot running while considering the stiffness of the running surface. Two footwear conditions (barefoot and neutral running shoe) and 4 surface conditions (Tartan, Tartan + Ethylene Vinyl Acetate [EVA] foam, Tartan + artificial turf, Tartan + EVA foam + artificial turf) were tested at 3.5 m•s 21 . Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed that barefoot running in general and running barefoot on harder surfaces increased and decreased ankle (between +5 and +26%) and knee (between 0 and 211%) joint moments, respectively. Averaged over all surfaces, running barefoot was characterized by a 6.8˚more plantarflexed foot strike pattern compared with running shod. Foot strike patterns were more plantarflexed on harder surfaces; the effects, however, were less than 3˚. Most surface effects were stronger in barefoot compared with shod running. Surface stiffness may be used to modulate the loading intensity of lower extremity muscles (in particular extrinsic and intrinsic foot muscles) during running. These results need to be considered when coaches advise barefoot running as a method to improve the strength of extrinsic and intrinsic foot muscles or when trying to reduce knee joint loading.

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Effect of Heel Construction on Muscular Control Potential of the Ankle Joint in Running

Cited by 10 publications

References 21 publications

Running into Fatigue: The Effects of Footwear on Kinematics, Kinetics, and Energetics

Running into Fatigue: The Effects of Footwear on Kinematics, Kinetics, and Energetics

The effect of different running shoes on treadmill running mechanics and muscle activity assessed using statistical parametric mapping (SPM)

Surface Stiffness and Footwear Affect the Loading Stimulus for Lower Extremity Muscles When Running

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