Effects of Running Shoe Type on Dynamic Navicular Drop in Elite Runners

Background and/or Objectives: This study examines the effect of footwear on dynamic navicular drop in elite runners at an easy running effort. We compared technologically advanced running shoes (TARS) – responsive foam shoes (Foam) and carbon fiber plate (CFP) – to traditional running shoes (Neutral). While TARS have been tied to navicular bone stress injuries (BSI) in competitive runners, further research is needed. To our knowledge, no studies have compared multiple footwear types in elite distance runners. This study aims to address this gap and examine dynamic navicular drop to assess shoe-related stress and injury risk.

Design: Repeated-measures study.

Setting : Biomechanics lab with an instrumented treadmill (AMTI, Watertown, MA) and 3-D motion capture (250 Hz, Vicon, Oxford, UK).

Participants : Eight competitive distance runners (n = 2 female) who qualified for Olympic trials, national championships, or competed at collegiate-level.

Interventions: 42 retroreflective markers were placed on the pelvis, thighs, shank and feet. Each participant ran for five minutes in three randomized shoe conditions (CFP, Foam, Neutral) at a self-selected easy effort (3.6 ± 0.34 m/s).

Main Outcome Measures: Dynamic navicular drop was calculated using the average change in navicular height from foot strike to mid-stance relative to a reference vector established between the third phalange and posterior calcaneus.

Results: Mean age of participants was 24.75±2.4 years-old, BMI was 21.9±1.5 kg/m2 and weekly training volume was 60.6±15.7 miles/week. No measurable differences were identified in mean navicular drops for the Neutral, Foam and CFP shoes (14.3±5.5 mm, 14.0±4.8 mm and 13.6±4.5 mm respectively, p = 0.958).

Conclusions: Although dynamic navicular drop was descriptively decreased in TARS – particularly CFP shoes – compared to neutral shoes, no significant differences were detected. These findings should be further evaluated at different speeds, in larger populations and across running ability levels.