Minimalist shoe training does not promote forefoot running or loading rate attenuation in habitually shod runners

Transitioning to minimalist shoes has become e xt re mely popular amongst experienced shod runners. Proponentsof minimalist shoe runningadvocate thatadaptation from a rearfoot strike (RFS) to either a midfoot strike(MFS) or forefoot strike (FFS)is necessaryto attenuateexternalvertical average loading rate (VA LR)on the body.One possible imp licat ion isthat VALRis akineticpara meter associated withrunning injuries such as tibial stress fractures [4]. Furthermore, itis co mmonlyassumed that adaptations in footstrike pattern and attenuation of VALR occurwith more min ima listshoe experienceor training. Thelimited datathat exists on minima list shoe running has been performedon those unaccustomedtoit[1], or on those alreadye xperienced in barefoot running[2]. The longitudinal effectof minimalist shoe training in e xperienced shod populations appearsto have been neglectedin pervious literature. Although, onestudy has shownan inclination to adapt from a rearfoot strike (RFS) towards a forefoot strike(FFS)landing pattern after sixweeks of minimalist shoe training[3]. Fu rther research is warranted to confirm or refute thehypothesisthatshort term training in min ima list shoes will attenuateVA LRvia footstrike pattern alteration.There fore, the prima ry purpose of this study was to determine if VA LR could be attenuated and footstrike pattern would be adapted as a result of seven-weeks of min ima list shoe training.A secondary objective was to determine the association between footstrike pattern and VA LRstatus: publishe