Are super shoes a super placebo? A randomised crossover trial in female recreational runners

We examined the potential placebo effect of advanced footwear technology (AFT) on running economy (RE) and perceptual measures while monitoring biomechanics. Twenty-four female recreational runners completed 4 × 6-minute RE trials in two pairs of women’s Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next% 2. One pair was described as performance-enhancing super shoes with AFT worn by elite athletes, and the other pair was spray-painted black and described as ‘knock-off’ AFT shoes. Oxygen consumption (difference: −0.05 ± 0.47 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹, <i>d</i> = −0.02), energy cost (difference: −0.02 ± 0.17 W·kg⁻¹, <i>d</i> = −0.03), and discrete biomechanical variables were not significantly different between conditions. There were no significant differences between shoes in lower-extremity angular and angular velocity curves based on statistical parametric mapping. Overall comfort (100-mm visual analogue scale) was significantly greater (14.6 ± 15.0 mm, <i>d</i> = 0.94) in the performance-enhancing than ‘knock-off’ condition, with most runners (87.5%) preferring the former. Runners perceived running as more enjoyable and less difficult and perceived an improved running performance and lower injury risk in the performance-enhancing shoe (<i>d</i> = 0.72–1.16). While no significant physiological or biomechanical differences were observed, a significant placebo effect was apparent for both perceived comfort and perceived performance based on shoe description alone.

我们研究了先进鞋类技术（AFT）对跑步经济性（RE）和感知指标的潜在安慰剂效应，同时监测生物力学特征。24名女性休闲跑者穿着两款女士Nike ZoomX Vaporfly Next%2跑鞋完成了4组×6分钟的跑步经济性测试。其中一款被描述为精英运动员所穿、采用AFT的性能增强型超级跑鞋，另一款则被喷涂成黑色，并被描述为"AFT仿冒鞋"。耗氧量（差异：−0.05±0.47 mL·kg⁻¹·min⁻¹，d=−0.02）、能量消耗（差异：−0.02±0.17 W·kg⁻¹，d=−0.03）以及离散生物力学变量在两种条件下均无显著差异。基于统计参数映射分析，两款鞋在下肢角度和角速度曲线方面未发现显著差异。性能增强型跑鞋条件下的整体舒适度（100毫米视觉模拟量表）显著高于仿冒鞋条件（14.6±15.0毫米，d=0.94），且大多数跑者（87.5%）更偏好前者。在穿着性能增强型跑鞋时，跑者感知跑步更愉悦、难度更低，且认为跑步表现有所提升、受伤风险更低（d=0.72–1.16）。尽管未观察到显著的生理或生物力学差异，但仅基于鞋款描述，感知舒适度和感知表现方面就显现出显著的安慰剂效应。