Barefoot running causes acute changes in lower limb kinematics in habitually shod male runners

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare differences in knee and ankle kinematic and spatio-temporal variables at foot strike between barefoot and shod running. Twelve male runners (age 21.6±1.26 years) performed six running trials in each running condition on a 12m indoor runway at a self-selected pace. Lower limb kinematics and spatio-temporal variables were recorded with a six-camera T10 Vicon motion capture system (200Hz). In the barefoot condition runners landed with significantly greater knee flexion (p<0.01; ES=2.61) and less ankle dorsi-flexion (p<0.05; ES=1.12) compared to in the shod condition. No significant differences were found between knee varus/adduction (ES=0.78) or ankle inversion/adduction (ES=0.85) between the barefoot and shod conditions. The barefoot condition had significantly shorter contact time (p<0.01; ES=1.99) and step time (p<0.05; ES=1.13), while significantly higher step frequency (p<0.05; ES=1.25) compared to in the shod condition. Results indicated that immediate adaptations occurred when transitioning from shod running to barefoot running.

Key words: Barefoot running; Kinematics.