Patellofemoral joint loads are lower when adolescents with patellofemoral pain run in flat, flexible shoes compared to traditional athletic shoes.

OBJECTIVES

To examine peak and cumulative patellofemoral joint force when adolescents with patellofemoral pain run in a traditional athletic shoe, compared with a flat, flexible shoe.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-six adolescents with patellofemoral pain ran on an instrumented treadmill in a traditional athletic shoe and a flat, flexible shoe.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cumulative and peak patellofemoral joint forces, knee flexion angle, knee extension and ankle plantarflexion moments, cadence, stride length and pain were compared between footwear conditions using paired t-tests.

RESULTS

Peak patellofemoral joint reaction force was 11 % (p < 0.001) lower while running in the flat, flexible shoe (mean ± SD 3.62 ± 1.01 N/kg), compared to the athletic shoe (4.09 ± 0.97 N/kg). Cumulative patellofemoral joint force was 15 % (p < 0.001) lower while running in the flat, flexible shoe (195.09 ± 75.97 Bw.s/km), compared to the athletic shoe (231.54 ± 87.95 Bw.s/km). Peak knee flexion angle (p < 0.001) and knee extension moment (p = 0.001) were also lower when running in the flat, flexible shoe. There was no difference in peak ankle plantarflexion moment, running cadence, stride length, or pain between conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

Flat, flexible shoes may be a suitable intervention to lower cumulative patellofemoral joint loads during running in adolescents with patellofemoral pain.