The Effect of Different Shoe Outsole Shape on Plantar Loading Distribution during Running in Chinese Male Undergraduate Students

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of different shoe outsole shapes on plantar loading distribution during running. Three pairs of shoes with different outsole shapes were selected, which were Skechers Go Run Ultra-C (shoe 1), Nike Free 5.0 (shoe 2) and Mizuno Wave Ascend 8 (shoe 3). The midfoot area of outsole in shoe 2 was flat while shoe 1 had a convex-shaped outsole, and the outsole of shoe 3 was concave in the midfoot area. We hypothesized that the three different shoe outsole shapes had a significant effect on the plantar pressure distribution, especially as the outsole shape changed from convex to concave the pressure presented an obvious increasing trend in the forefoot and rearfoot region. 20 healthy male recreational runners were recruited for this study. A Pedar-X in-shoe pressure measure system (Novel GmbH, Munich, Germany) was used for data collection. Subjects were asked to wear each pair of shoes and ran at 2.2 m/s on a treadmill. The order of test shoes was randomized. The data of right foot was collected for the statistical analysis and five foot strikes were averaged for each trail. The results of this study demonstrated significant differences in plantar loading distribution between the 3 different kinds of shoes, as the outsole shape changed from convex to concave the pressure presented an obvious increasing trend in the forefoot and rearfoot region.