Injury and performance-related running biomechanics in advanced footwear technology compared to minimalist footwear

Abstract

Road racing shoes have recently evolved to incorporate maximal midsole cushioning and an embedded carbon fibre plate. Shoes in this category have been labelled ‘Advanced Footwear Technology’ (AFT) and may significantly contribute to improvements in running economy, in part due to biomechanical changes at the foot and ankle. However, little is currently known regarding the effect of AFT on common biomechanical risk factors for injury. In addition, most biomechanical research on AFT to date has focused on early prototypes, with less research on more recent versions of these shoes, such as the Nike Vaporfly NEXT%. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to compare lower extremity running biomechanics in the Nike Vaporfly NEXT% (NEXT%) to a minimally cushioned road shoe. Twelve competitive runners ran overground in a laboratory at their current estimated marathon pace while three-dimensional ankle, knee, and hip kinematics and kinetics were collected. Regarding injury-related metrics, eversion excursion was significantly greater in the NEXT% shoe, which has been observed in runners with a history of navicular stress fracture. For performance-related metrics, significantly less peak dorsiflexion and dorsiflexion excursion, as well as a smaller peak plantar flexion moment and lower positive and negative ankle joint work, were found in the NEXT% shoe compared to the minimal shoe. These findings may help biomechanically explain the performance benefits of AFT and support previous research on prototype AFT. However, we also observed a significantly higher peak knee extensor moment in the NEXT% shoe, which was a novel finding and may offset some of the performance benefits seen at the ankle.

Keywords:

• Maximal shoes
• advanced footwear technology
• road racing
• ankle biomechanics
• injury risk
• performance

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Junko Griffith for her assistance with data collection, as well as Kathy Reyes for her assistance with data analysis. The authors would also like to thank Sherri Dean and Jason Calvi-Rogers for their assistance with impact testing, and Lily Bartel and Bethany Burr for their assistance with stiffness testing.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in the Open Science Framework at http://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/JS5HN.

Additional information

Funding

This work received no internal or external funding.