Effects of nail softness and stiffness with distance running shoes on ground reaction forces and vertical loading rates in male elite long-distance runners with pronated feet

Abstract

Background To improve propulsion during running, athletes often wear spike shoes designed for training and/or competition. Running with spike shoes may cause pain and/or injuries. To address this problem, a modified spike shoe was tested. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of running with dual-versus single-stiffness spike running shoes on running mechanics in long-distance runners with pronated feet. Methods Sixteen male elite (national competitive level) runners (5000 or 10,000 m) aged 28.2 ± 2.5 years with pronated feet volunteered to participate in this study. To be included, participants had to have achieved personal best race times over 5- and/or 10-km races under 17 or 34 min during official running competitions. All participants were heel strikers and had a history of 11.2 ± 4.2 years of training. For the assessment of running kinetics, a force plate was imbedded into a walkway. Running kinematics were recorded using a Vicon-motion-capture system. Nike Zoom Rival shoes (Nike, Nike Zoom Rival, USA) were selected and adapted according to spike softness and stiffness. Participants ran at a constant speed of ~4.0 m/s across the walkway with both shoe conditions in randomized order. Six trials were recorded per condition. The main outcomes included peak ground reaction forces and their time-to-peak, average and instantaneous vertical loading rates, free moments, and peak ankle eversion angles. Results Paired t-tests revealed significantly lower lateral (p = 0.021, d = 0.95) and vertical (p = 0.010, d = 1.40) forces at heel contact during running with dual-stiffness spike shoes. Running with dual-stiffness spike shoes resulted in a significantly longer time-to-peak vertical (p = 0.004, d = 1.40) force at heel contact. The analysis revealed significantly lower average (p = 0.005, d = 0.46) and instantaneous (p = 0.021, d = 0.49) loading rates and peak negative free moment amplitudes (p = 0.016, d = 0.81) when running with dual-stiffness spike shoes. Finally, significantly lower peak ankle eversion angles were observed with dual-stiffness spike shoes (p < 0.001, d = 1.29). Conclusions Running in dual- compared with single-stiffness spike distance running shoes resulted in lower loading rates, free moment amplitudes, and peak ankle eversion angles of long-distance runners with pronated feet.

Impacts of Core Training on Athletes’ Performance in Long-Distance Running

“…In the four indicators of core strength, endurance, core explosiveness, and core stability, the experimental group's scores weres significantly more significant than that of the control group, and there were statistically significant differences. 6 The increase in speed and strength in the test items was significantly more significant in the control group than in the experimental group, but there was no statistically significant difference. Three indicators of maximum strength, endurance, and muscle storage elasticity were significantly improved.…”

Gait retraining targeting foot pronation: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…Fourteen studies were assessed by Downs and black scale [17,21,37,52,[55][56][57]59]. Any disparities in scoring were rechecked by 2 authors (FKH and SHM).…”

“…External supports including foot orthoses [18,19], motion control shoes [19], and therapeutic adhesive taping [20] are the most common interventions studied for reducing over-pronation. Vertical impact peak and peak lateral ground reaction force decreased by ~30.5 and ~6.2 N during heel contact with the use of single and dual-stiffness shoes in runners with pronated feet [21]. These interventions are widely recommended for correcting atypical foot pronation [18,22].…”