The influence of shoe upper construction on the plantar pressure distribution during running

摘要

One of the main interests in studying running shoes is to investigate the effects of manipulating physical and mechanical properties of the outsole (Cheung & Ng, 2008; Wiegerinck et al., 2009). The impact attenuation and the resulting forces received by the musculoskeletal system during running are the main reasons to change these physical properties of the shoe outsole. Only few studies have investigated the role of the upper in the plantar pressures while running (Dixon, 2008; Wegener et al., 2008). However, most of the studies dedicated to this subject change the entire shoe model, making it impossible to identify which physical characteristic of the sport shoe has influenced the biomechanical changes observed in the runner. The classic uppers usually are more structured while the minimalist uppers usually seems like socks and allow more natural movements of foot and toes. We still do not know if changing only the shoe upper, the biome-chanics of the foot-shoe interaction will change accordingly, and consequently the foot rollover process and the pressure distribution during running.