PURPOSE This study tests if running economy differs in minimal shoes versus standard running shoes with cushioned elevated heels and arch supports and in forefoot versus rearfoot strike gaits. METHODS We measured the cost of transport (mL O(2)·kg(-1)·m(-1)) in subjects who habitually run in minimal shoes or barefoot while they were running at 3.0 m·s(-1) on a treadmill during forefoot and rea...

Foot imbalance is believed to be a common cause of musculoskeletal injury in the horse; its biomechanical effects are, however, poorly understood. Wedges (angle 3.7 and 5 degrees) were attached to modified shoes to elevate one aspect of both front feet of Thoroughbred-type horses. The point of force application during weightbearing was determined at trot using a forceplate system. A total of 8 ...

This study aims to investigate the effects of shoe traction and obstacle height on friction during walking to better understand the mechanisms required to avoid slippage following obstacle clearance. Ten male subjects walked at a self-selected pace during eight different conditions: four obstacle heights (0%, 10%, 20% and 40% of limb length) while wearing two different pairs of shoes (low and h...

A prosthetic foot is an important element of a prosthesis, although it is not always fully recognized that the properties of the foot, along with the prosthetic knee joint and the socket, are in part responsible for the stability and metabolic energy cost during walking. The stiffness and the hysteresis, which are the topics of this paper, are not properly prescribed, but could be adapted to im...

The purpose of this study was to compare the heel pad mechanical properties of runners, who repetitively load the heel pad during training, with cyclists who do not load their heel pads during training. Ten competitive long distance runners and 10 competitive cyclists volunteered for this study. The thickness of the unloaded heel pad was measured using realtime B-mode ultrasonography. A heel pa...

We aim to determine the influence of sports floorings and sports shoes on impact mechanics and performance during standardised jump tasks. Twenty-one male volunteers performed ankle jumps (four consecutive maximal bounds with very dynamic ankle movements) and multi-jumps (two consecutive maximal counter-movement jumps) on force plates using minimalist and cushioned shoes under 5 sports flooring...

The purpose of this study was to determine the difference between genders in body position during jumping movements while wearing shoes with varying midsoles. Twenty-two apparently healthy female and seven males voluntarily participated in this study. Subjects were current or recently graduated NCAA division III athletes of weight bearing sports and familiar with plyometric jumping. Subjects pe...