Effect of Sex-Specific Running Shoes on Female Recreational Runners

Effect of Sex-Specific Running Shoes on Female Recreational Runners

Alterations in running shoe design have been studied and used in the prevention of injury and enhancement of performance allowing running shoe companies to market to a variety of runners based on skill level, foot-strike pattern, and even sex. These alterations have been shown to affect biomechanica...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Applied sciences Vol. 12; no. 15; p. 7537
Main Authors: Rasmussen, Spencer, Wilkes, Baker, Poulton, Lily, Roser, Megan, Draper, Shane, Creer, Andrew, Standifird, Tyler
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Basel MDPI AG 01-08-2022
Subjects:
Athletic shoes
Biomechanics
Carbon fibers
Design
Feet
Females
Fitness equipment
Footwear
ground reaction force
Injury prevention
joint kinematics
joint kinetics
lower limb mechanics
Males
Metabolism
Morphology
Motion capture
Oxygen consumption
Physiology
Plantar fasciitis
Running
running biomechanics
sex-specific footwear
Shoes
Shoes & boots
Vanadium oxides
United States > US
Europe
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Summary:Alterations in running shoe design have been studied and used in the prevention of injury and enhancement of performance allowing running shoe companies to market to a variety of runners based on skill level, foot-strike pattern, and even sex. These alterations have been shown to affect biomechanical and physiological variables associated with running. Some shoe companies have designed shoes specifically for biological female runners due to the morphological differences found between male and female feet. The purpose of this study is to determine if sex-specific running shoes can alter female runner biomechanics or physiology. Female runners were asked to run in the male and female models of the Altra Torin 4 Plush shoe to determine if there were differences in ground reaction forces (GRFs), sagittal plane joint angles and moments, oxygen consumption (VO2), respiratory exchange ratio (RER), and perceived level of comfort while running; There were no significant differences in GRFs, sagittal joint angles and moments, VO2, RER, or perceived comfort; There were no differences in measured biomechanical or physiological variables between the female and male version of the shoes suggesting that the alterations made to the female-specific shoe do not provide any additional benefit to female recreational runners.
ISSN:2076-3417
2076-3417
DOI:10.3390/app12157537