NCT05499871

Effect of a Gait Retraining Intervention and a Minimalist Footwear Transition on Foot-ankle Strength, Running Economy and Injury in Endurance Runners.

Comparison Between Gait Retraining Intervention With a Transitioning Toward Minimalist Footwear on the Foot-ankle Strength, Running Economy and Injury Incidence in Endurance Runners: a One-year Follow up Study.

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 140 (actual)
• Sponsor: University of Liege · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 55 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The main aim is to determine whether a gait retraining intervention will improve the strength of the foot-ankle muscle, the running economy and reduce the injury incidence in a one-year follow-up study. The secondary aim is to seek whether a minimal foot-ankle strength is necessary to reduce the risk to sustain to a running-related-injury to transit toward a forefoot strike pattern or toward a minimalist footwear for an endurance runner. Participants will be assessed at baseline, at 2 month follow-up, at 6 month follow-up and at 12 month follow-up. Assessment will be composed by questionnaires, a foot screening, maximal voluntary isometric strength of foot-ankle muscle with hand held dynamometer. Then, participants will run on a treadmill at self-paced and at 10 km/h with to measure their running economy and their footstrike pattern. In function of their distribution, participants will receive either nothing (control group) or minimalist footwear or a training to modify their footstrike pattern toward a more forefoot strike.

Conditions

• Running
• Wounds and Injuries
• Oxygen Consumption

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Gait retraining intervention	Participants will receive a training to modify their footstrike pattern toward a more forefoot strike and increase their cadence by 7.5%.
DEVICE	Transition to minimalist footwear.	Participants will receive a running minimalist footwear.

Timeline

• Start date: 2022-09-01
• Primary completion: 2022-09-12
• Completion: 2024-09-30
• First posted: 2022-08-12
• Last updated: 2025-05-16

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Belgium