CUSHIONING OF THE RUNNING SHOES AFTER LONG-TERM USE

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the cushioning properties of the running shoes after long running distance. Each of five subjects wore a new Nike air-shox shoe at the beginning and then at least ran thirty minutes on the same treadmill once or twice a week. The results of material test showed that impact force peaks significantly increased as the running distance increased. However, in the subject test, the tibial peak accelerations decreased as the running distance increased. It seemed to indicate that the subjects accommodate themselves to the material characteristics of the testing shoe by reducing the impact energies as heel strike. Based on the results, the cushioning abilities of the running shoes were attenuated after 300 km running distance. In the future, the change of the cushioning abilities of the running shoes should be monitored after more running distances.