ASICS FOOTWEAR REVIEW: GLIDERIDE 2

I have been running in the GLIDERIDE for a while now. I previously had a pair of the GLIDERIDE 1 which I ran around 800km in before retiring. I’ve found a substantial difference between the earlier version of this shoe and the current model. GLIDERIDE feels like an outlier when I look at my shoe options, it’s the most different of everything I run in. For me personally, I use it for a different reason to my other shoes. This has become a bit of a recovery shoe for me, and it works perfectly in that role. The first iteration of this shoe felt as bulky as it looked, however I have been impressed with the new version feeling a lot more streamlined on the foot. There have been changes to the midsole geometry in this update that make the shoe feel much more stable.

Clinically the defining feature of this shoe is fairly obvious, the rocker. It’s a useful shoe to have in your prescribing options for patients. As mentioned above, it’s really like nothing else available in the ASICS range. You are likely to come across patients for whom this shoe is exactly right as often as you’ll see patients that this shoe just doesn’t work for. Part of our role as clinicians will be identifying those people that would benefit from the features and technology in footwear options and make suitable recommendations. Previous research has suggested that running in a shoe with a midsole rocker reduces the ankle plantarflexion moment, at propulsion. This will most likely lead to a reduction in load and strain on the posterior muscles/tendons of the lower limb.

A runner with symptoms relating to sagittal plane ankle kinematics. The most obvious of these being Achilles tendinopathy. Shoes of this nature are known to reduce load on the Achilles. Additionally, I would consider using this shoe for those with calf issues, hip flexor symptoms or hamstring tendinopathy.

Runners with ankle equinus resulting in excessive or early forefoot loading would benefit from this shoe. With patients like this we aim to reduce pressure time integrals at the forefoot (time spent loading the forefoot). Increasing the offset may assist with this by preloading the 1st MPJ. However, as we know, this raise in heel height will generally increase peak plantar pressures at the forefoot… Enter GLIDERIDE 2. The rocker in this shoe takes care of sagittal plane facilitation therefore allowing for a 5mm offset – perfect for reducing work done by the forefoot whilst maintaining sufficient sagittal plane movement.

This patient group is the one that I would say, this shoe is exactly right for.

My second typical profile is a runner looking for a forgiving, recovery shoe. This is most of us, right! Whilst the person described in my first scenario may use this as their primary shoe, I feel that a far broader group of runners would benefit from this as a secondary shoe. Someone who has a low to average cadence and is looking for a shoe to support their easy days. I put myself in this category and find that the shoe works brilliantly for this purpose. My average cadence on an easy day is around 162. The rocker in this shoe helps to keep me ticking over on these days without getting “bogged down” by tired and heavy legs.

Sharon May-Davis, Christine Gee, Wendy Y Brown Journal of Equine Veterinary Science 90 (2020) 103017

By Pip Sail

Abstract:

Ultrasound is a well-established modality in equine investigative and diagnostic procedures. Ultrasound provides a noninvasive alternative to gross anatomic dissections for investigating the Nuchal ligament Lamellae (NLL) attachments in members of the family Equidae.

The lightweight and portable diagnostic ultrasound unit is suitable in field studies, clinical practice, and insitu research. The efficacy of ultrasound in diagnostic equine care has been well documented. Structures anatomically deeper are discernible with the correct ultrasound transducer probe and megahertz frequency, therefore, diagnostic ultrasound should be suitable for investigating the soft tissue structures that are deep within the equine neck, such as the NLL3 .

Ultrasonography offers a noninvasive method for investigating anatomical variations in equine anatomy providing a far better option than identifying these same points via dissection.

Two non-related horses were obtained for the study. Both horses were physically examined and ultrasound images conducted by a veterinarian before their predestined euthanasia.

In both horses, the ultrasound images revealed the NLL attachment at Cervical vertebra 2 (C2) with clarity, including the junction of the NLL from C2 to the NLFC (funicular cord junction FCJ). The ultrasound image also depicted a clear demarcation between the directional fibres of the NLL and the NLFC, and the aperture between the two structures at the level of C2/C3 corresponding to the cadaver.

In both horses the attachment point of the NLL to the dorsal spines of the cervical vertebrae from C2 to C5 were discernible; further noting the attachment points at C6 and C7 were absent. Close, comparative inspection of the cadavers conformed the ultrasound images to be accurate. Previous studies have compared and validated ultrasound images of various soft tissue structures against gross anatomy observations in postmortem equine cadavers6,7 . The present study is the first to report the use of ultrasound for investigating the NLL in the live horse, enabling accurate identification of the NLL attachment points that were subsequently verified by dissection. Recent studies document the morphology of the NLL attachment as primarily from C2 to C5 in the modern domestic horse 3,9-11 .

The present study concurred with these findings via investigative ultrasound and corroborated these findings with correlating gross anatomy.

The findings in 2 horses that differed in morphology (thin vs thick necked) demonstre the suitability of ultrasound as a tool for investigating variations in NLL attachments and are consistent with previous studies.

Ultrasonography provides a noninvasive tool for the anatomical exploration of soft tissue structures and may be used accurately to determine variations in the equine NLL attachments.

A full set of references are available on request.

As Physiotherapy treatments advance into Equine medicine this study demonstrates that there are investigative techniques that crossover between human medicine and veterinary medicine.