Page 105 - Journal of Special Operations Medicine - Spring 2016

An Ongoing Series

Injuries and Footwear (Part 2)

Minimalist Running Shoes

Joseph J. Knapik, ScD; Robin Orr, PhD; Rodney Pope, PhD; Tyson Grier, MS

ABSTRACT
This article defines minimalist running shoes and ex- Introduction
amines physiological, biomechanical, and injury rate Within the past 12 years, minimalist running shoes have
differences when running in conventional versus min- gained popularity as an alternative to modern, high-
imalist running shoes. A minimalist shoe is one that technology running footwear. Advocates argue that run-
provides “minimal interference with the natural move- ning in minimalist shoes is closer to barefoot running, for
ment of the foot, because of its high flexibility, low heel which humans are naturally adapted through years of
to toe drop, weight and stack height, and the absence evolution, while opponents argue that the foot is better
of motion control and stability devices.” Most stud- protected by the stability, support, and superior cushion-
ies indicate that running in minimalist shoes results ing provided by modern running shoes. In this article, we
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in a lower physiological energy cost than running in first define the minimalist shoe, then review physiological
Hosted by NAEMT’s PHTLS Committee and EMS World Expo conventional shoes, likely because of the lower weight and biomechanical differences between running in mini-
of the minimalist shoe. Most individuals running in malist and conventional footwear and examine studies
conventional shoes impact the ground heel first (rear- that have compared injury rates based on biomechanical
foot strike pattern), whereas most people running in differences and running in the two types of footwear.
OCTOBER 4, 2016 Presenting the latest research and information minimalist shoes tend to strike with the front of the
foot (forefoot strike pattern). The rate at which force
NEW ORLEANS, LA on prehospital trauma care from internationally is developed on ground impact (i.e., the loading rate) It is important to note that we are only considering
studies that have looked at conventional and minimal-
recognized experts around the globe, the 5th annual
ERNEST N. MORIAL World Trauma Symposium will expand your medical is generally higher when running in conventional ver- ist footwear. Minimalist footwear was developed by
sus minimalist shoes. Findings from studies that have
CONVENTION CENTER knowledge and improve your clinical care, ultimately looked at associations between injuries and foot strike running shoe companies in response to the “barefoot
movement,” the movement away from shoes altogether
improving your patients’ outcomes. A 1-day patterns or injuries and loading rates are conflicting, in favor of running barefoot. In the US military, bare-
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educational event that will change the way so it is not clear if these factors influence injury rates; foot running is not permitted in regular unit training
more research is needed. Better-designed prospective
you practice. studies indicate that bone stress injuries and the overall and some form of running footwear is required. Thus,
injury incidence are higher in minimalist shoes during this review only includes studies that compare minimal-
All attendees will receive 8 hours of CECBEMS- the early weeks (10–12 weeks) of transition to this type ist and conventional footwear. This is the second part
of our review of footwear and injuries. Part 1 covered
accredited CE, CME or nursing CE. of footwear. Longer-term studies are needed to define the history of athletic footwear, how selecting footwear
injury rates once runners are fully transitioned to mini- based on arch height affects injury rates, and provided
malist shoes. At least one longer-term minimalist-shoe an historical comparison of injury incidence when run-
The premier education event for investigation is ongoing and, hopefully, will be pub-
Early Bird Discount! lished soon. ning in shoes versus boots.
ALL providers of out-of-hospital WorldTraumaSymposium.com Register by 9/2 and Keywords: injuries, foot; footwear; shoes, minimalist; shoes, What Is a “Minimalist Running Shoe”?
Save $50! conventional; shoes, running
trauma care. A definition of a “minimalist shoe” was developed by
a group of 43 people who were primarily running shoe

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