I previously covered the allegation and provided some commentary on the suit. A settlement was filed on Wednesday. According to TopClassActions.com: Under the terms of the proposed Vibram class action settlement, Class Members who submit valid and completed Claim Forms will be eligible for refunds, up to a maximum of $94 per pair of shoes […]
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Metabolic comparison of running shod and barefoot in mid-forefoot runners
The running economy issue again: been there, done that: here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here. Short and sweat post today as on the road and have to be somewhat careful what I say about this one as I do not yet have access to the full publication, so posting it more as an FYI than a detailed appraisal: Metabolic […]
Another study on foot strike pattern and running injuries
Guess what it found? We already know that the preponderance of evidence probably shows that there is no systematic differences in the injury rates when comparing heel vs midfoot/forefoot strikers or barefoot/minimalist vs shod when running. Now we have this new study to add to that. The study is only in abstract form and is […]
‘Overpronation’ and running injury risk
‘Overpronation’ still continues to be misused and misunderstood all the way from the medical literature to the fan boys in the crankosphere blogosphere. For example, there was this study that got a lot of recent mileage in the mainstream media and the blogosphere that claimed to show that foot pronation was not associated with injury risk. It […]
Reduction in Ground Reaction Forces with Barefoot Running
One of the more common arguments for barefoot running (or at least transitioning to minimalist shoes or just a forefoot/midfoot strike) is that it is easier to more lightly contact the ground and eliminate the magnitude of impacts associated with a heel strike. Now we have this study that looked at the magnitude of reduction […]
Barefoot/Minimalism Running and Heel Striking
The widely held assumption is that heel striking is associated with the use of more traditional running shoes with padding under the heel and forefoot/midfoot striking is more associated with barefoot or minimal running shoes. The probable reason is the comfort of heel strike with a padded shoe and the somewhat discomfort associated with the […]
Effect of Pose/Chi type running instruction on running economy
I do get a little tired of the running economy issue and foot strike pattern for a couple of reasons: Its been done to death (I have covered it here, here, here, here, here, here and here) and the fan boys get upset with me because the research which was not even done by me does not agree with what they have […]
Tibial Accelerations in Heel and Forefoot Strikers
Many studies have now compared the biomechanics of forefoot/midfoot striking vs rearfoot strike patterns when running and some of those have looked at tibial loads with most studies showing its the usual six of one, half a dozen of the other as it was a matter of trading impact loads on the tibia (higher in […]
The concept of ‘core stability’ of the foot
The concept of spinal ‘core stability’ is given a lot of prominence in the media, by coaches and by therapists and is allegedly an important concept for prevention of running injury, low back pain and postural related issues. It has gained widespread acceptance. Despite this, the definitive evidence supporting the concept is lacking; anecdotally a […]
Impact of injury on ultramarathon performance
Two new bits of research from the same group was recently published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine: IMPACT OF INJURY PATTERN DURING TRAINING ON ULTRAMARATHON PERFORMANCE M Khodaee, J Spittler, JC Hill, MD Hoffman Br J Sports Med 2014;48:619 doi:10.1136/bjsports-2014-093494.160 Abstracts from the IOC World Conference on Prevention of Injury & Illness in […]
Effect of Barefoot Running on Strength, Balance and Proprioception
A lot of claims get made for the effect that barefoot or minimalist running has on muscle strength, but there is a lack of good data backing up the volume of the rhetoric and propaganda you keep reading on this. Given the volume and strength of the claims you would have thought that there would […]
Running Form Variability and Protection from Overuse Injury
The concept goes something like this: if there is a subtle step-to-step differences in the way we run, then the tissues are loaded very slightly differently with each step. Theoretically, this is a good thing and is a potential way that the body responds to not overload any one part of the tissues too much […]
Training Characteristics Related to Running Related Injuries
The risk for an overuse injury is multifactorial, consisting of mechanical factors that increase the load on the tissues; tissue vulnerability issues; and issues related to tissue adaptation to those loads. If an injury occurs or not is going to be a complex interaction of those three factors. Injuries occur if the cumulative load on […]
Do novice runners have weak hips and bad running form?
The role of what I like to refer to as proximal control issues are taking on increasing importance in running injury management with a number of hip related issues identified as being associated with overuse injuries such as patellofemoral pain syndrome and medial tibial stress syndrome. This new study set out to look at some […]
The Effect of Cadence Manipulation on Plantar Pressures
Cadence manipulation is increasingly being used as a tool to manage overuse injuries in runners and I have previously reviewed two recent studies: Increasing cadence and patellofemoral forces and Increasing Cadence and Running Injury. Increasing the cadence does decrease the load on some tissues, but increases the load on others, so its going to be six […]