Criteria for biomechanical tests for athletic shoes

Abstract

In recent years, comparative sport shoe tests have resulted in an improvement of athletic footwear quality. Examples demonstrate the value and the limits of material tests, biomechanical investigations and subjective wear test evaluations. Biomechanical experiments have the primary goal to analyse sports shoe function with regard to shoe properties to prevent injuries. Rear foot pronation and supination measurements, in-shoe pressure distribution analyses, and the registration of ground reaction forces as well as tibial accelerations are valuable in the process of biomechanical evaluation. Material tests can be used to determine production quality between shoes and midsole material deterioration in used shoes. Wear tests with subjective evaluation are necessary for the judgement of shoe properties (e.g., shoe fit) which cannot be measured by biomechanical or material test methods.