Effectiveness of Lower-Cost Strategies for Running Gait Retraining: A Systematic Review

Abstract

The effectiveness of lower-cost equipment used for running gait retraining is still unclear. The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the effectiveness of lower-cost equipment used in running gait retraining in altering biomechanical outcomes that may be associated with injuries. The literature search included all documents from MEDLINE, Web of Science, CINAHL, SPORTDiscus, and Scopus. The studies were assessed for risk of bias using an evaluation tool for cross-sectional studies. After screening 2167 initial articles, full-text screening was performed in 42 studies, and 22 were included in the systematic review. Strong evidence suggested that metronomes, smartwatches, and digital cameras are effective in running gait retraining programs as tools for intervention and/or evaluation of results when altering step cadence and foot strike patterns. Strong evidence was found on the effectiveness of accelerometers in interventions with feedback to reduce the peak positive acceleration (PPA) of the lower leg and/or footwear while running. Finally, we found a lack of studies that exclusively used lower-cost equipment to perform the intervention/assessment of running retraining.