Perceived footwear comfort, but not running biomechanics, is altered by misinformation on price and design

Rationale/ Objectives: Comfort is a major criterion for runners in selecting running shoes. Interestingly, past studies reported inconsistent relationship between footwear comfort and physical parameters, such as shoe stiffness or plantar pressure distribution during running. Thus, it is possible that self-perceived footwear comfort is subjected to deceptive information, and subsequently affects running mechanics. This study aimed to examine the effects of deceptive footwear conditions on footwear comfort and running biomechanics in runners. Methods: Fifteen runners performed running tests in two footwear conditions i.e. Shoe A and Shoe B. Shoe A was described as a latest model designed to maximize comfort and more expensive than Shoe B. However, an identical pair of running shoes was used in both shoe conditions. Subjects were blindfolded and ran in each shoe condition for five minutes, and they were asked to rate the footwear comfort using a validated questionnaire. We measured the running biomechanics using motion capturing system and instrumented treadmill. Results: Subjects reported significant greater footwear comfort in Shoe A than Shoe B (p = 0.011, Cohen's d = 0.75). Highly similar lower limb kinematics were observed between the two shoe conditions with trend similarity indices over 96.3%. Likewise, we did not find any difference in the temporal spatial parameters (p > 0.562) and the vertical loading rates (p > 0.312) between conditions. Conclusions: The context and price of footwear are sufficient to alter the perceived comfort in runners. However, the biased perception on comfort does not lead to changes in running biomechanics.