Biomechanics and footwear research 1970-2000

While a substantial amount of research concerning footwear for many sports activities has been published, the research on running and distance running has dominated the footwear related literature. The purpose of this review was to describe the origins of footwear research in biomechanics and the relationship of biomechanics to footwear research and design beginning with research conducted in the 1970s up to the year 2000. As a result of the interest in running in the 1960s and 70s, the biomechanics of running shoes became an important consideration for footwear manufacturers and for biomechanics researchers. While some footwear manufacturers developed their own laboratories for research, they also began supporting research in university laboratories. In this review, the technology used for footwear research in the 1970s and 80s is discussed, and how this technology somewhat limited the research capabilities of footwear researchers. These limitations were mainly a result of the data reduction and analysis process. The major foci of footwear research in the early days were: (1) running-related injuries (pronation and impact loading); and (2) running performance. Running-related injuries became an important emphasis as a result of epidemiological studies showing that up to 50% of runners became injured per year and that footwear may be designed to prevent/mitigate these injuries. The effect of running shoes on improving running performance did not garner the same interest as did running-related injuries but certainly, footwear research showed that shoes could be an important factor influencing performance. While the concepts developed in this era have been found to be somewhat controversial, the fact that running shoes were improved with this research during this period is beyond doubt.