The influence of barefoot and shod running on Triceps-surae muscle strain characteristics

Abstract

The aim of the current investigation was to determine the effects of barefoot and shod running on the kinematics of the Triceps-Surae muscle group. Twelve male participants ran at 4.0 m.s-1 (± 5%) in both barefoot and shod conditions. Kinematics were measured using an eight-camera motion analysis system. Muscle kinematics from the lateral Gastrocnemius, medial Gastrocnemius and Soleus were obtained using musculoskeletal modelling software (Opensim v3.2). The results showed that muscle strain for the lateral Gastrocnemius (barefoot = 1.10 & shod = 0.33 %), medial Gastrocnemius (barefoot = 1.07 & shod = 0.32 %) and Soleus (barefoot = 3.43 & shod = 2.18 %) were significantly larger for the barefoot condition. Given the proposed association between the extent of muscle strain and the etiology of chronic muscle strain pathologies, the current investigation shows that running barefoot may place runners at greater risk from Triceps-Surae strain injuries.