Biomechanics and Motion Analysis

Effect of Environmental Temperature on Shock Absorption Poperties of Running Shoes

Principal Investigator: Jay Smith, M.D. and Kenton R. Kaufman, Ph.D.
Project Coordinator: Kathie Bernhardt — bernhardt.kathie@mayo.edu

Figure 21: Representative deceleration data for the four SAS types tested.

Running continues to increase in popularity and running shoe technology has been changing rapidly in recent years. However, few studies have been done to determine the effects of temperature on running shoes. Shoe shock absorption properties are temperature dependent and have potentially significant clinical implications for athletes training under extreme environmental conditions. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of a wide range of temperatures on four of the most widely used running shoe shock absorption systems (SAS).

Representative data for the different SAS are shown in Figure 21. All SAS showed significantly higher peak decelerations at colder temperatures, indicating lower shock absorption capacity at those temperatures. The polyurethane foam shoe had significantly lower shock absorption capacity at -20° than the other SAS tested. This study demonstrated the influence of environmental temperature on shoe shock absorption properties. Because shock absorption capability changes with temperature, injury rates may also be affected. Therefore, SAS and training climate may be important factors to consider when choosing a running shoe.