Foot strike pattern in children during shod-unshod running

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Pediatric Sports Medicine
• Running Gait Analysis

Background:

• Foot strike patterns (FSPs) and lower extremity motion during running are crucial biomechanical variables.
• Understanding these patterns in children is essential for injury prevention and performance optimization.
• Previous research has primarily focused on adult populations, with limited data on pediatric biomechanics in varied footwear conditions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the foot strike patterns (rearfoot strike, midfoot strike, forefoot strike) and neutral support (inversion/eversion and foot rotation) in children.
• To investigate the influence of shod versus unshod conditions on these biomechanical parameters.
• To examine potential sex-based differences in pediatric running biomechanics.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving 713 children aged 6-16 years.
• High-speed sagittal and frontal-plane video analysis (240Hz) was employed to capture initial foot contact.
• Key variables recorded included rearfoot strike (RFS), midfoot strike (MFS), forefoot strike (FFS), inversion/eversion (INV/EVE), and foot rotation.

Main Results:

• Rearfoot strike prevalence was similar between sexes in both shod and unshod conditions.
• Barefoot running significantly reduced RFS prevalence in both boys (83.95% to 62.65%) and girls (87.85% to 62.70%).
• Unshod conditions significantly increased neutral support (no INV/EVE) and decreased neutral support related to foot rotation compared to shod conditions.

Conclusions:

• Pediatric rearfoot strike prevalence is lower than in adult populations.
• Barefoot running in children leads to a reduction in rearfoot strike and inversion/eversion, potentially indicating improved biomechanics.
• While barefoot running promotes a more neutral foot posture regarding inversion/eversion, it is associated with increased foot rotation in children.