Neuro-mechanical adjustments to shod versus barefoot treadmill runs in the acute and delayed stretch-shortening cycle recovery phases

Abstract

In habitually shod recreational runners, we studied the combined influence of footwear and stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) fatigue on treadmill running pattern, paying special attention to neuro-mechanical adjustments in the acute and 2-day delayed recovery periods. The SSC exercise consisted of a series of 25 sub-maximal rebounds on a sledge apparatus repeated until exhaustion. The acute and delayed functional fatigue effects were quantified in a maximal drop jump test. The neuro-mechanical adjustments to fatigue were examined during two submaximal treadmill run tests of 3 min performed either barefoot or with shoes on. Surface electromyographic (EMG) activities, tibial accelerations and kinematics of the right lower limb were recorded during the first and last 15 s of each run. The main result was that neuro-mechanical differences between the shod and barefoot running patterns, classically reported in the absence of fatigue, persisted in the fatigued state. However, in the delayed recovery phase, rearfoot eversion was found to significantly increase in the shod condition. This specific footwear effect is considered as a potential risk factor of overuse injuries in longer runs. Therefore, specific care should be addressed in the delayed recovery phase of SSC fatigue and the use of motion control shoes could be of interest.

Soreness‐related changes in three‐dimensional running biomechanics following eccentric knee extensor exercise

“…This topic is of interest to athletes and coaches since many runners continue to run, despite experiencing significant DOMS. Consistent with previous literature (Chen et al, 2007;Chen et al, 2009;Dutto & Braun, 2004;Morio, Nicol, Barla, Barthelemy, & Berton, 2012;Morio, Sevrez, Chavet, Berton, & Nicol, 2016;Satkunskiene et al, 2015;Tsatalas et al, 2013), knee flexion ROM was reduced in the presence of knee extensor DOMS. This reduction in flexion ROM appears to be the result of a reduced knee flexion at foot contact, since peak knee flexion was unchanged.…”

“…It appears that risk of certain injuries may not be any different since frontal and transverse plane joint biomechanical variables previously associated with running injuries are unaltered when knee extensor DOMS is present. Morio et al (2016) observed an increase in ankle eversion ROM during shod running at 48 h following exhaustive SSC. The authors suggest that the proprioceptive perturbations from exhaustive SSC may have affected sense of joint position and movement.…”

“…Morio et al. (2016) observed an increase in ankle eversion ROM during shod running at 48 h following exhaustive SSC. The authors suggest that the proprioceptive perturbations from exhaustive SSC may have affected sense of joint position and movement.…”

“…Recently, Morio et al. (2016) also found reduced knee flexion ROM during running at 48 h following repeated exhaustive stretch shortening cycle (SSC) using a sledge ergometer but no changes in knee extensor muscle activity were observed. Finally, it is important to note that the small effect size ( d = 0.26) for the change in knee flexion ROM may limit the meaningfulness of this finding.…”

Influence of shoe drop on running kinematics and kinetics in female runners

“…Participants tested three shoe conditions in a randomized order: shoe drop of 0, 6 and 10 mm ( D 0 , D 6 and D 10 , respectively) with an average thickness of the sole of 25 mm for all conditions and a shoe weight of 246, 242 and 236 g, respectively. For each shoe condition, participants were first asked to run for 4 min on a treadmill at their preferred running speed in order to stabilize the shoe properties (Divert, Baur, Mornieux, Mayer, & Belli, 2005) and adapt and stabilize their running pattern to the shoe condition (Morio, Sevrez, Chavet, Berton, & Nicol, 2016). Subsequently, they performed five trials at the same speed.…”