I am in a cranky mood this morning. I put off reviewing this one as I new what I was going to write was not going to be complementary and I had other more interesting papers to review and comment on. I finally got to it as couple of fan boys emailed me asking me […]
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When running, lean forward at the ankle or the hip?
The sensible running technique coaches that I listen to often talk about the forward lean from the ankle when running rather than a forward lean at the hips. Ironically, the fan boys from the various running form cults also often say the same thing, so there must be something to it. I have certainly tried […]
The effects of the sole geometry of the On running shoe
The Swiss running shoe company, On, have developed their novel CloudTex system that is aimed at reducing ground reaction forces and also to potentially improve running economy. The design of the sole includes deformable open cells that are claimed to absorb “harmful” vertical and horizontal impacts (if you want to believe that these are actually […]
The importance of joint moments in running injury risk and running economy
Back from a holiday and was planning on getting in back into the routine of posting and was planning on writing something totally different today and then the study below turned up. It was not a study on runners and was not on running (it was on walking), so my title for this post is […]
This will probably be my epitaph…
See: Different Running Techniques Load Different Tissues Differently Why ‘one size does not fit all’ when it comes to running What is the “best” running form? As always: I go where the evidence takes me until convinced otherwise.
Running with a minimalist shoe increases plantar pressures
Its taken me a couple of days to get to this one. The reason is that I like to start each post about a research article with some comments to put it into context. This time I was suffering from writers block as I could think of nothing to say that I have not said […]
Sensory deficits in runners with an overuse injury
There has been a lot of work done over the years (and I done a tiny bit of it) that have contributed to our understanding of sensory input to gait, postural issues and the effects of running shoes (or lack of them) and foot orthoses. Some have been dismissive of it and others have extrapolated […]
Review of Lieberman et al’s (2010) paper in Nature on Barefoot Running
Since starting this blog I have tried to cover every relevant piece of research when its published as well as summarize some topics in the context of what the evidence is saying. I have missed a few and still do have a bit of a backlog of recent ones. It all comes down to allocating […]
Better running economy with softer shoes
There have been an explosion of running economy papers in the last few years. I have reviewed many of them (and there are a few more to come when time allows). The results are somewhat mixed and the data is not as clear as the rhetoric and propaganda would have had you believe. To add […]
Time to recovery following a running injury
When you are sick you always want to know how long until go are going to get better. The same when you come down with a running overuse injury. The answer to the question of ‘how long’ is somewhat of a loaded one, as if you keep on doing exactly what caused the injury, then […]
Foot arch height and muscle strength
This study that just turned up in my alerts and caught my eye. It was not on runners, but on children. I was not going to write about it for that reason, but all day it has been gnawing at me to write about it as it has direct relevance to some previous posts: The […]
The effect of shoe drop on running pattern
I previously had a go at the issue of what is an ideal drop¹ for a running shoe and started with the conclusion: Straight to it: based on my understanding of the current knowledge, the evidence and discarding all the logical fallacies, I can find no evidence and no rationale for any blanket recommendations for any […]
The Influence of Arch Type on Injury in Minimally-Shod Runners
We have known for some time that there are different running injury risk profiles for different foot types, often depending on how you choose to classify them. Now this new study is suggesting that different foot types may have different injury risk profiles between traditional shod running and minimalist shod running: The Influence of Arch […]
What are the Main Risk Factors for Running-Related Injuries?
I have long suggested that the cause of an overuse injury in runners is the cumulative load in the tissues is beyond what the tissues can take, so the management is simply one of load management by reducing the load and/or increasing the ability of the tissues to take the load. Most assumed and identified […]
The effect of minimal shoes on arch structure and intrinsic foot muscle strength
Lets go back to the perennial question on foot muscle strength and traditionally shod running vs barefoot/minimalist running with the publication of this new research: The effect of minimal shoes on arch structure and intrinsic foot muscle strength Elizabeth E. Miller, Katherine K. Whitcome, Daniel E. Lieberman, Heather L. Norton, Rachael E. Dyer Journal of […]