Coefficient of cross correlation analysis of kinematics during walking barefoot and in Vibram FiveFingers®

The current phenomenon of barefoot running appears
to have facilitated a near market saturation of
conceptual barefoot-related footwear. It is no wonder
since the related literature has demonstrated
favourable impact-moderating adaptations
(De Clercq et al. 1994, Squadrone and Gallozzi 2009,
Lieberman et al. 2010) and provided evolutionary
(Lieberman et al. 2010) and philosophical perspectives
(Oschman 2008).
The Vibram FiveFingers is one such concept and
its efficacy has been demonstrated in the literature
where external reaction forces, oxygen uptake kinetics
and lower extremity kinematics have been shown to
demonstrate no significant differences compared to a
barefoot running (Squadrone and Gallozzi 2009).
The kinematic variables however, were constrained to
discrete sagittal plane timing events; therefore, a more
robust method of discriminating between temporal
kinematic changes is warranted. Such a method can be
derived from the coefficient of cross correlation (CCC)
(Li and Caldwell 1999).