No pain, plenty of gain: Scientists develop sports shoe without a heel
Three scientists at the university of applied sciences in Magdeburg have been testing a new type of running shoe as part of an EU project to develop an innovative new sports shoe. In just under two years the lightweight running shoe without a heel is set to be ready for the market at an affordable price.
A prototype of the shoe
Jogging is considered a healthy sport by most. The positive effects for circulation, the burning of calories and the general positive effects for the body as a whole are beyond dispute. Yet improper strains, hard surfaces and unsuitable shoes can lead to problems. Knee, foot, hip and back pains force many an athlete to take time out.
Adri Hartveld from Newcastle under Lyme, a passionate runner himself, has witnessed countless examples as such from his 25 years of experience working as a physiotherapist. He used his many work trips to national and international running meetings to make systematic observations about runners. He realized that many people run with too much pressure on their heel (resulting in so-called “heel strike”) – an imbalance which is then passed on to other areas, as mentioned above.
Hartveld thought it would be a good idea to somehow be able to avoid the hard impact of the heel on the ground that causes „heel strike“. And so the idea of a shoe without a heel was born.
There followed countless thought processes of how to turn the idea into reality in the form of an actual running shoe. And so he went about creating the first prototype in his own workshop. Following countless training kilometres, talks with runners, medical experts and material scientists, he took the decision to develop a product for the market and patented his idea.
The main difference to “normal” sports shoes lies in the construction of the sole. To make it, special materials were required. Hartveld became aware of a strong natural fiber material that scientists at the University of Applied Sciences in Magdeburg-Stendal (FH) were researching. After processing the first sample material he soon realized that it would be suitable for the sole of his new shoe. The light weight, cheap price and environmentally friendly nature of the material meant that it was ideally suited.
The university was not the only partner Hartveld got on board: he used technology developed by Zwartz, a producer of natural fiber materials and the engineering firm KIEM. It allows him to replace carbon fiber with Biopreg®, a strengthened natural fiber material.
The project, which is being supported by the EU program for the support of small and medium sized businesses, is however far from being market ready. Hartveld estimates that it will be around two years before the first shoes are market-ready.
