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* A study looked at bone marrow edema in 36 experienced runners transitioning to Vibram FiveFingers (VFF) shoes<ref name="RidgeJohnson2013"/>. The runners were randomly assigned VFF or their normal running shoes, with the VFF runners gradually transitioning based on the recommendations of Vibram at that time. Only 1 of the 17 runners in the control group showed signs of a bone marrow edema, compared with 9 of the 19 VFF runners.
* In 2014, Vibram settled a lawsuit that they made false and unsubstantiated claims that their FiveFingers shoes could reduce injury rates.
=Personal Observations=
While this page is dedicated to the current scientific research, I do want to add a few personal observations as a counterpoint.
* My testing of [[Running Sensors]] has made me realize how many ways there are of measuring the impact forces of running. I believe that this warrants much deeper scientific research.
** Impact can be measured as simple acceleration, or as "jerk" which is the rate of change of acceleration. In some situations, the human body can adapt to a continuous level of acceleration much better than it can to a rapidly changing level of acceleration. This can be observed when an aircraft takes off, and the initial buildup of acceleration seems quite dramatic, but after 10-20 seconds the steady acceleration is harder to notice.
** The impact forces can be measured on the ground, on the shoe, on the tibia (lower leg), or on the torso. Each location is likely to have a different result.
* I've observed some potentially interesting patterns during my initial testing using [[TgForce]], [[RunScribe]], [[MilestonePod]], [[Moov Now]], and [[Wahoo TICKR Run]].
** When use a forefoot foot strike the impact measured on my shoe is typically a little higher than when I heel strike. However, the impact measured on my tibia is vastly lower. When heal striking, the impact on my shoe is typically in the 7-9g range, and 5-7g on my Tibia. When I land on my forefoot the impact on my shoe is 8-12g but the Tibial impact is 2-4g.
** When comparing [[Maximalist]] shoes with minimally or cushioned shoes I'm typically finding that the impact measured on my shoe is a little higher with the more cushioned shoes, but the Tibial impact is virtually the same regardless of cushioning. (There is a very slight suggestion that more cushioned shoes have fractionally lower Tibial impact.)
=References=
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