Biomechanics & Medical

Pete Larson who writes a terrific, informative blog on all things running, asked me to put together a post on stress fractures in barefoot runners, which he posted here. In that article I talk specifically about second metatarsal fractures though what I describe relates to stress fractures throughout the entire lower extremity. Stress fractures are common […]

My friend Bill Katovsky over at Zero Drop asked me to comment on this New York Times article published today that basically lambasted toner shoes. The article starts by discussing a recent study showing that toning shoes really don’t burn more calories despite marketing claims (no surprise). Then it cites research showing that toning shoes really don’t […]

The Harvard Indoor Track Revisited (page 4 of 4, the gun lap) For a shoe midsole to behave like the time tested Harvard Indoor Track, this midsole would has to compress and release in perfect tune with the rise and fall of the peak body weight force. It would have to be a sole that remains […]

The Harvard Indoor Track Revisited (part 3 of 4) Okay, so the first big difference between cushioning in a shoe and the successful plywood structure of Harvard is that the plywood does not give at impact like a typical cushioned shoe. The second difference, which needs to be emphasized, is that the plywood maximally compresses […]

The Harvard Indoor Track Revisited (part 2 of 4) Dr. McMahon’s results were just as he expected. In the 1977-1978 Harvard indoor track season, injuries were reduced by one-half compared to the prior season. Running efficiency also improved as evidenced by faster race times of approximately 3%, not just by members of the Harvard Track […]

The Harvard Indoor Track Revisited I live in Charlottesville, Virginia, home of the University of Virginia (UVa), where I recently retired as professor and chair of the department of physical medicine and rehabilitation to launch OESH Shoes. Though I love UVa, I must admit a lot of good things come from dear ol’ Harvard. The […]

A student working with me this summer asked me, “It all seems so obvious when you look at the graphs. Why haven’t any of the big athletic shoe companies ever noticed this before?” Here’s the answer… The graphs are the result of comprehensive human biomechanics research. And meaningful, comprehensive biomechanics research requires you to combine […]

Last time I discussed the common misperception that impact causes injuries. Today, I’m going to show you the critical link in the chain describing the real instant of vulnerability. It’s actually pretty obvious when you think about it (kind of like you always find your car keys in the last place you look)…vulnerability occurs when […]

Paul Harvey did a “the rest of the story” segment on one of my first research studies on shoes. He was a nice guy and I was in awe of his digging in beyond the typical headline news. In that same vein, I now give the rest of the story on another of my studies […]