A comparison of the cushioning effect of a popular running shoe and a shoe using a new spring technology during human running
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to compare the cushioning effect of the Nike Air Pegasus 2004 and the Spira Volare II™ during human running. Ground reaction forces during running can reach two to three times body weight and the construction of a shoe can impact the forces on the tissues and joints of the lower body. Shoe cushioning can decrease the amplitude of the vertical ground reaction force during impact. Measured variables were peak force, peak force relative to body weight and time-to-peak force. It was determined that time-to-peak force was not significantly different (F = 2.17, p = 0.1745) between the WaveSpring™ technology found in the Spira Volare II and the air cell construction of the Nike Air Pegasus 2004. There were significant differences found in peak force values (F = 8.26, p = .0184). When peak forces were normalized to body weight, a significant shoe by gender interaction was found (p = 0.032). Further analysis revealed a significant difference between the Nike Air Pegasus 2004 and the Spira Volare II for females (p = 0.0048) but not for the males (p = 0.8544). The researchers concluded that the Spira Volare II is similar to the Nike Air Pegasus 2004 in time-to-peak force but significantly lower in peak forces, particularly for females.
Subject Area
Sports medicine
Recommended Citation
Flores, Mike, "A comparison of the cushioning effect of a popular running shoe and a shoe using a new spring technology during human running" (2005). ETD Collection for University of Texas, El Paso. AAI1427706.
https://scholarworks.utep.edu/dissertations/AAI1427706