Available at: https://digitalcommons.calpoly.edu/theses/3285
Date of Award
6-2026
Degree Name
MS in Biomedical Engineering
Department/Program
Biomedical Engineering
College
College of Engineering
Advisor
Scott Hazelwood
Advisor Department
Biomedical Engineering
Advisor College
College of Engineering
Abstract
The recent increase in long-distance running participation and the rapid advancement in footwear technology have created a need for research on injury prevention in this growing population of recreational runners. When “super shoes” were first introduced to the running scene, they caught the attention of runners worldwide with the rapid improvement in marathon performance [1]. Today, every major running brand offers its own version of a super shoe, each incorporating a carbon-fiber plate and PEBA-based midsole foam. While previous studies have shown the performance benefits of these shoes, a gap remains in the literature regarding how they impact knee, hip, and ankle joint kinetics and kinematics in female runners. The purpose of this study was to examine differences in peak compressive contact force and peak kinematic variables at these joints to determine whether these super shoes alter joint loading in female recreational runners. Peak compressive contact joint force at the knee, hip, and ankle were selected as the kinetic variables of interest because they are metrics directly associated with stress fracture formation in the lower limb, which is one of the most common injuries in long distance runners [2]. Female runners are at a disproportionately higher risk for these injuries, making it especially important to examine these variables within this population [3].
This study used OpenCap, a markerless motion capture system, to collect kinematic and kinetic data from ten female recreational runners aged 18 to 23. Participants ran in three Brooks shoes: one containing a carbon-fiber plate and a PEBA-based midsole foam (Hyperion Elite 5), one containing a carbon-fiber plate and EVA-based foam (Hyperion Elite 4), and one containing EVA-based foam but no carbon-fiber plate (Hyperion 3). Each participant completed three walking trials on the track, followed by three running trials at tempo pace in each shoe condition. Kinematics were estimated using deep learning models and inverse kinematics in OpenSim, and kinetics were estimated through a physics-based musculoskeletal simulation approach provided through OpenCap [4]. Repeated measures analyses of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey HSD posthoc comparisons were used to evaluate differences between each shoe condition for peak knee, hip, and ankle joint contact force, as well as peak hip flexion, hip adduction, knee angle, ankle angle, and pelvis list (p < 0.05 significant).
Significantly higher peak knee compressive contact force was observed in the Hyperion Elite 5 compared to the Hyperion 3 (p= 0.0345). Peak hip compressive contact force trended towards having a higher peak with the Hyperion Elite 5 compared to the Hyperion 3 (p= 0.0814), while peak ankle compressive contact force showed no significant difference between shoe conditions (p= 0.9004). No significant differences were observed in any kinematic variables between shoe conditions.
These findings suggest that the combination of both a carbon-fiber plate and PEBA-based midsole foam may meaningfully alter peak compressive contact joint forces in recreational female runners, particularly at the knee, with the potential of elevated stress fracture risk. Further research could further examine the relationship between peak knee compressive contact forces and stress fracture development, replicate this study with a larger sample size, and investigate whether the effects are consistent across different brands of carbon-fiber plated shoes or specific to the Brooks Hyperion line.