LAUSR

It has been postulated that the arch of the human foot stores and releases elastic strain energy during locomotion via ligamentous and tendinous structures (Ker, Bennett, Bibby, Kester, & Alexander, 1987). Recent work suggested that footwear may, in fact, limit arch deformation, and therefore affect the spring-like function of the foot (Kelly, Lichtwark, Farris, & Cresswell, 2016). These authors concluded that running in shoes resulted in increased arch stiffness because of the greater activity requirements of the plantar foot muscles to limit the deformation of the arch. Because this previous work compared barefoot versus shod running only, it remains unclear if these findings are related to systemic differences in midsole bending stiffness between barefoot and shod conditions or some other interaction related to the foot-shoe interface.