About this Research Topic
The year 2010 marked a resurgence of research and fierce debate on the potential benefits of mid- or forefoot (i.e., “anterior”) running foot strike patterns and minimalist footwear. The proposed benefits of anterior foot strike running and minimalist footwear included three basic premises: 1) humans evolved to run barefoot and with an anterior foot strike pattern; 2) anterior foot strike patterns promote more elastic energy utilization of the Achilles tendon; and 3) anterior foot strike patterns minimize the loading rate and peak impact force within the vertical ground reaction force component. For these reasons, barefoot and minimalist running with an anterior foot strike pattern are suggested to improve running performance and lead to a lower risk of running injury development. The insurgence of research in these three premises over the past decade has done much to improve the biomechanical understanding for the role of foot strike and footwear in running injury; however, the debate concerning the benefits and disadvantages of foot strike and footwear choices continues.
The purposes of this Research Topic are to provide an overview for the current state of the field regarding the foot strike pattern and footwear debate and to showcase new, cutting edge research that provides greater insight into the role of foot strike patterns and running footwear in gait biomechanics.
Topics of interest include:
• Prospective injury studies and randomized control trials examining the role of foot strike and/or footwear in the risk of overuse running injury development
• Comparative studies that provide new knowledge regarding the gait mechanics of different foot strike patterns and running footwear
• Case-control/retrospective studies examining the association between foot strike and/or footwear and overuse running injury
• Musculoskeletal and tissue modeling studies to aid understanding of the influence of foot strike and/or footwear on localized loading
• Comparison of foot strike and footwear influences on gait mechanics when measured in-lab vs in-field
• Effectiveness of foot strike gait retraining in injury prevention or rehabilitation
• Evaluation of the robustness of assessing foot strike modality during running
• Novel approaches to assessing foot strike modality, or alternative means of classifying runners
• Intervention studies assessing the effect of foot strike and/or footwear on pain and gait mechanics
• Longitudinal investigations on foot strike and/or footwear during running training programs and/or over the course of a race
The purposes of this Research Topic are to provide an overview for the current state of the field regarding the foot strike pattern and footwear debate and to showcase new, cutting edge research that provides greater insight into the role of foot strike patterns and running footwear in gait biomechanics.
Topics of interest include:
• Prospective injury studies and randomized control trials examining the role of foot strike and/or footwear in the risk of overuse running injury development
• Comparative studies that provide new knowledge regarding the gait mechanics of different foot strike patterns and running footwear
• Case-control/retrospective studies examining the association between foot strike and/or footwear and overuse running injury
• Musculoskeletal and tissue modeling studies to aid understanding of the influence of foot strike and/or footwear on localized loading
• Comparison of foot strike and footwear influences on gait mechanics when measured in-lab vs in-field
• Effectiveness of foot strike gait retraining in injury prevention or rehabilitation
• Evaluation of the robustness of assessing foot strike modality during running
• Novel approaches to assessing foot strike modality, or alternative means of classifying runners
• Intervention studies assessing the effect of foot strike and/or footwear on pain and gait mechanics
• Longitudinal investigations on foot strike and/or footwear during running training programs and/or over the course of a race
Keywords: Foot Strike Patterns, Running Footwear, Injury Prevention, Human Running, Running Gait
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
