Footwear, biomechanics and athletic performance

Footwear, biomechanics and athletic performance

Evidence for the use of footwear by humans can be found since the early millennia of the Holocene (Trinkaus 2005). While its original purpose was to protect and warm the feet, nowadays, different shoe models are used to adapt to specific activities in daily life or to perform in sports. However, from an anthropological perspective, barefoot running is considered the more natural form of upright (bipedal) gait. This arises concerns whether the widespread use of shoes in most populations influences the development of anatomical foot structures, and may lead to relevant changes in walking and running biomechanics, motor control and physical performance. 

Most research published in the past two decades compared the effects of footwear vs. no footwear (barefoot) on running biomechanics and injury risk. Recently, increased attention has been given on its impact on motor control and sports-specific movements. Although there is no conclusive evidence due to the still small number of studies as well as the methodological heterogeneity, it seems safe to expect some long-term effects of footwear habits on foot structures as well as motor and sports performance. While, from a development perspective, there might be benefits of regular barefoot activities it has recently also shown that (advanced) footwear technology can lead to meaningful improvements in sports performance. The current state of evidence suggests that there are no general advantages or disadvantages of regular footwear use or different shoe models. Moreover, the effects of the same footwear may vary with regard to the aim and/or different populations (e.g. sports performance, health-related factors or motor development).

The talk was given by Astrid Zech from the University of Friedrich-Schiller-Universität in Jena.