Many new footwear products have been introduced to the market over the last few years. This is nothing new. Manufacturers are always trying to come up with new ideas to sell shoes. Every once in a while you hear of a lawsuits over false claims, but they are rare. Why? Because much of the research is owned by the manufacturer. Even if the research is done by a third party, it is under contract that the research cannot be published if the findings do not support the claims.
A new type of shoe, rocker-bottom shoes (i.e. Sketcher Shape-ups), were introduced a few years ago. Much like anything else, this product hit the market before research was done to support the claims. The claims are that wearing the shoes activates the muscles differently compared to regular shoes. After a couple of years, much research has been done on this product. One study just recently published in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning measured oxygen consumption and EMG data on the biceps femoris, rectus femoris, gastrocnemius, and tibialis anterior while wearing rocker-bottom shoes (Sketcher Shape-ups), flat-bottom shoes (Adidas), and weight matched flat-bottom shoes.
In the study, 17 women and 11 men, all healthy and an in their mid-twenties, performed 10 minutes on a treadmill at a speed 10% higher than a self-selected speed for three times for all three shoes. EMG data and oxygen consumption data were collected. No difference was found other than tibialis anterior activity was slightly lower in the rocker-bottom shoes. Not the manufacturer’s claim. This is consisted with many other studies done on this type of shoe.
Advice to owners of these shoes: give them to a second hand store and put more work in if you want to see results. For a long time we have been trying to find an easy way out. There isn’t one. The only thing is hard work... and don’t forget about your diet!
Refeerence
Santo, Antonio S. Roper, Jenevieve >, Dufer, Janet S., and Mercer, John A. Rocker-Bottom, Profil-Type Shoes Do Not Increase Lower Extremity Muscle Activity or Energy Cost of Walking. J Strength Cond Res 26(9): 2436-2431. 2012.
