Kinetic and kinematic comparison of HOKA shoes to standard running shoes

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare the kinetics and kinematics of running in HOKA shoes to standard shoes. Sixteen subjects (8 male, 8 female) who ran at least 6 miles per week and had not had a lower extremity orthopedic injury within the 3 months prior to testing were included in this study. Subjects were also accustomed to running in shoes; however, none of the subjects had worn HOKA shoes prior to the study. Subjects ran 1 0�15 trials at a self-selected pace across two force plates to measure kinetics. To measure kinematics, subjects had retroflective markers placed at the 1st metatarsal head, 1 h metatarsal head, calcaneal tuberosity, lateral malleolus, medial malleolus, mid-tibia 5 (shank), lateral knee joint line, mid-femur (thigh), greater trochanter of the femur, anterior superior iliac spine, posterior superior iliac spine, and sacnun. Results found no significant differences in any kinetic variables measured except for greater IP when running in HOKA shoes (p < 0.05). Also, no significant differences were seen in any kinematic variables measured. These findings may suggest that HOKA shoes promote a more vigorous heel strike. However, most of the data suggests that there is no difference between HOKA and standard running shoes.