EFFECTS OF SHOES MASS ON RUNNING GAIT ANALYSIS

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the running gait analysis between different mass of shoes. Eleven male college runners from the physical education department participated in this study. The mass of experimental shoes of this study were 175 g, 255 g, 335 g and 41 5 g. When the weight of shoes increased, the maximum vertical ground reaction force increased. and the footstrike patterns changed to mid-foot strike (MFS). The center of pressure shifted forward, and the runner changed to MFS. The strike index of the strike patterns change to MFS pattern that is self-protection mechanism. Heavy shoes increase ground reaction force, thus might increasing lower extremity injuries risk.