Another study suggesting one changes ones preferred foot strike pattern at ones peril! From my old friend Professor Benno Nigg and his team at the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Calgary. The effects of preferred and non-preferred running strike enders, von Tscharner, Nigg. Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport Volume 17, Issue 2, March 2014, Pages 218–222 Objectives To characterize soft tissue vibrations during running with a preferred and a non-preferred strike pattern in shoes and barefoot. The only condition that resulted in lower damping coefficients more consistently was the use of a preferred movement pattern. Our results suggest that subjective preference of a movement should play a much bigger role in the debate about shod and barefoot running. One explanation for this result could be a self-optimization mechanism that most biological systems have inherently. This idea suggests that a runner automatically adapts to a change in running condition or strike pattern to maintain optimal running performance and efficiency. If we reflect upon this idea then we must consider that performance optimization and efficiency will presumably prevail over changes introduced through shod or unshod running. Conclusion- The results indicate that the preferred movement is one of the main aspects in reducing soft tissue vibration energy. It is suggested that a preferred movement is an important feature that should be considered in future discussions regarding shod and barefoot running. Small study sample and a population sample that was not accustomed to running barefoot are significant limitations, however, the take home message is that unless you REALLY need to, leave well enough alone!
Posted on: Thu, 20 Mar 2014 07:12:18 +0000
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