The effect of heel-to-toe drop of running shoes on patellofemoral joint stress during running

Abstract

Background: Traditional running shoes with heel-to-toe drops is thought to be a contributor to increased patellofemoral joint stress, which is proposed as a mechanism of patellofemoral pain.

Research question: Is there an increase in patellofemoral joint stress when running in shoes with drops compared to running in shoes without a drop?

Methods: Lower limbs kinematics and ground reaction force were collected from eighteen healthy runners during over-ground running in shoes with 15 mm, 10 mm, 5 mm drops, and without a drop. Patellofemoral joint force and stress were calculated from the kinematic and kinetic data using a biomechanical model of the patellofemoral joint.

Results: The peak patellofemoral joint stress was increased by more than 15% when running in shoes with 15 mm and 10 mm drops compared to running in shoes without a drop (p = 0.003, p = 0.001). The knee flexion angle was significantly increased when running in shoes with 15 mm, 10 mm and 5 mm drops (p = 0.014, p = 0.003, p = 0.002), the knee extension moment (p = 0.009, p = 0.002) and patellofemoral joint force (p = 0.003, p = 0.001) were increased when running in shoes with 15 mm and 10 mm drops, compared to running in shoes without a drop.

Significance: Compared to running in shoes without a drop, running in shoes with drops > 5 mm increase the peak patellofemoral joint stress significantly, which is mainly due to the increased knee extension moment.

Keywords: Heel-to-toe drop; Knee; Patellofemoral joint stress; Patellofemoral pain.