Transitioning to Minimal Footwear: a Systematic Review of Methods and Future Clinical Recommendations

Overview

Journal Sports Med Open

Specialty Orthopedics

Date 2017 Sep 17

PMID 28916956

Citations 10

Authors

Joe P Warne

Allison H Gruber

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

Background: Recent interest in barefoot running has led to the development of minimalist running shoes that are popular in distance runners. A careful transition to these shoes has been suggested and examined in the literature. However, no guidelines based on systematic evidence have been presented. The purpose of this review is to systematically examine the methods employed in the literature to transition to minimal footwear (MFW), as well as the outcomes to these studies in distance runners. In addition, MFW transition guidelines for future clinical practice will be presented based on observations from this review.

Methods: A systematic database search was employed using PubMed online as the primary database. Twenty papers were included in the final review.

Results: All studies implemented a prospective transition design to MFW with a detail of this transition provided, which increased MFW exposure up to an average of 60% (30-100%) at completion. Only 8/20 studies included injury prevention exercises, and 9/20 included gait retraining. The main outcomes of this transition included limited positive evidence of transitioning into MFW for running economy (n = 4 studies) and muscle development (n = 5). The injury incidence comparing running during the MFW transition (17.9 injuries per 100 participants) to matched participants in conventional running shoes (13.4 injuries per 100) appears equivocal (p = 0.219; effect size phi (φ) = 0.06 [very small]). Finally, several important recommendations for clinical practice and future research have been presented.

Conclusions: It is hoped that this paper will present important first steps in unifying the process of transitioning to MFW, both for academic and clinical use.

Citing Articles

Enhanced Foot Proprioception Through 3-Minute Walking Bouts with Ultra-Minimalist Shoes on Surfaces That Mimic Highly Rugged Natural Terrains.

Biscarini A, Calandra A, Marcucci A, Panichi R, Belotti A Biomimetics (Basel). 2024; 9(12).

PMID: 39727745 PMC: 11672953. DOI: 10.3390/biomimetics9120741.

Time course of muscle activation, energetics and mechanics of running in minimalist and traditional cushioned shoes during level running.

Udin G, Menendez A, Hoyois J, Chevalier M, Malatesta D Sci Rep. 2023; 13(1):5007.

PMID: 36973387 PMC: 10043033. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31984-z.

Training Load Capacity, Cumulative Risk, and Bone Stress Injuries: A Narrative Review of a Holistic Approach.

Hamstra-Wright K, Huxel Bliven K, Napier C Front Sports Act Living. 2021; 3:665683.

PMID: 34124660 PMC: 8192811. DOI: 10.3389/fspor.2021.665683.

Running barefoot leads to lower running stability compared to shod running - results from a randomized controlled study.

Hollander K, Hamacher D, Zech A Sci Rep. 2021; 11(1):4376.

PMID: 33623054 PMC: 7902604. DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-83056-9.

A Contemporary Approach to Patellofemoral Pain in Runners.

Esculier J, Maggs K, Maggs E, Dubois B J Athl Train. 2020; 55(12).

PMID: 33196837 PMC: 7740062. DOI: 10.4085/1062-6050-0535.19.

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