抄録
This study examines the effects of being barefoot and wearing shoes on ground contact styles and running step variables in young children. The subjects were 25 young children aged 3–9 years. Regarding the running step variables, 20 participants were included in the analysis, and 5 were excluded due to missing data. The subjects performed 10 m × 4 turns under two conditions, namely, wearing shoes (shoes condition) and being barefoot (barefoot condition). The target section for the analysis of ground contact styles and running step variables was the first 10 m. This study employed OptoJump Next (manufactured by Microgate) to analyze the running step variables. Thus, 11 variables, such as the ground contact time and flight time, were used as the running step variables. To determine the contact pattern during running, using a high-speed camera, the feet were recorded from the side of the participants. Thus, ground contact styles were classified into three types, namely, forefoot strike (FFS), midfoot strike (MFS), and rearfoot strike (RFS). Two examiners reviewed the video and evaluated the contact style. Consequently, regarding running step variables, the ground contact time, heel contact period, and kickoff period were significantly higher in the shoe condition than the barefoot condition. Furthermore, the pitch was significantly higher in the barefoot condition than in the shoe condition. Regarding ground contact style, the RFS was significantly higher in the shoe condition, and the MFS was significantly higher in the barefoot condition. The findings clarify that the difference between being barefoot and wearing shoes affects the ground contact style and running step variables in young children during running.
