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Role of Foot Morphology in Adoption of Running Footwear
Since the advent of commercial running footwear, manufacturers, shoe stores, and clinicians have advocated a variety of methods for determining what running shoe best suits an individual. Typically these prescriptions seek a simple classification of the runner’s foot and gait, such as “high-arched” or “overpronator,” to assign a standard shoe to that runner. Recent running research suggest that these methods are too general and miss important factors relating to a runner’s performance and risk for injury. Through this novel research project, we aim to provide a better individual-specific prescription for running footwear through the development of simple yet effective clinical assessments and an improved understanding of how each unique foot interacts with a running shoe to affect the runner’s mechanics and energy consumption.