Cues to land softly and quietly result in acute reductions in ground reaction force loading rates in runners.
Lauren K Sara, Logan W Gaudette, José Roberto de Souza Júnior and 3 others
PMID 38364508WHAT IT FOUND
Telling injured runners to land softly and quietly reduced vertical loading rates significantly, matching the effect of barefoot forefoot running.
This simple verbal cue lowered impact forces without requiring complex gait retraining or changing foot strike patterns.
Key findings
01The 'Shod-Quiet' condition (shoes + cues to land softly/quietly) resulted in significantly lower vertical loading rates compared to the control condition.
02There was no significant difference in vertical loading rates between the 'Shod-Quiet' condition and the 'Barefoot-FFS' condition (barefoot + forefoot strike cues).
03Reductions in loading rates in the 'Shod-Quiet' condition were not driven by changes in cadence or a consistent shift to a forefoot strike pattern.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
The study measured acute effects only; it cannot confirm whether these loading rate reductions are maintained over time with training. The sample was a convenience cohort of injured runners with varying ages (16-69) and competition levels, limiting generalizability to healthy runners or specific subgroups. The study did not capture precise foot strike angles or knee stiffness, so the specific biomechanical strategies used by participants to reduce loading rates in the Shod-Quiet condition remain unclear. The control condition included a cognitive distraction task (modified-Stroop test) to prevent conscious form modification, which may not reflect typical clinical baseline testing.
Declared interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that the 'Shod-Quiet' cue produces the same biomechanical changes as barefoot forefoot running. While both reduced loading rates, the barefoot condition increased cadence and forced a forefoot strike, whereas the quiet cue did not significantly change cadence or foot strike pattern, implying different underlying strategies.