scholarly journals Ground Reaction Force Differences between Bionic Shoes and Neutral Running Shoes in Recreational Male Runners before and after a 5 km Run

Author(s):  
Xinyan Jiang ◽  
Huiyu Zhou ◽  
Wenjing Quan ◽  
Qiuli Hu ◽  
Julien S. Baker ◽  
...  

Running-related injuries are common among runners. Recent studies in footwear have shown that designs of shoes can potentially affect sports performance and risk of injury. Bionic shoes combine the functions of barefoot running and foot protection and incorporate traditional unstable structures based on bionic science. The purpose of this study was to investigate ground reaction force (GRF) differences for a 5 km run and how bionic shoes affect GRFs. Sixteen male recreational runners volunteered to participate in this study and finished two 5 km running sessions (a neutral shoe session and a bionic shoe session). Two-way repeated-measures ANOVAs were performed to determine the differences in GRFs. In the analysis of the footwear conditions of runners, bionic shoes showed significant decreases in vertical impulse, peak propulsive force, propulsive impulse, and contact time, while the braking impulse and vertical instantaneous loading rate (VILR) increased significantly compared to the neutral shoes. Main effects for a 5 km run were also observed at vertical GRFs and anterior–posterior GRFs. The increases of peak vertical impact force, vertical average loading rate (VALR), VILR, peak braking force and braking impulse were observed in post-5 km running trials and a reduction in peak propulsive force and propulsive impulse. The interaction effects existed in VILR and contact time. The results suggest that bionic shoes may benefit runners with decreasing injury risk during running. The findings of the present study may help to understand the effects of footwear design during prolonged running, thereby providing valuable information for reducing the risk of running injuries.

2021 ◽  
Vol 2021 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Yi Wang ◽  
Wing-Kai Lam ◽  
Lok-Yee Pak ◽  
Charis K.-W. Wong ◽  
Mohammad F. Tan ◽  
...  

While colour of red can play a significant role in altering human perception and performances, little is known about its perceptual-motor effect on running mechanics. This study examined the effects of variations in insole colours on impact forces, ankle kinematics, and trial-to-trial reliability at various running speeds. Sixteen male recreational runners ran on instrumented treadmill at slow (90%), preferred (100%), and fast (110%) running speeds when wearing insoles in red, blue, and white colours. We used synchronized force platform and motion capturing system to measure ground reaction force, ankle sagittal and frontal kinematics, and movement variability. A two-way (colour x speed) ANOVA with repeated measures was performed with Bonferroni adjusted post hoc comparisons, with alpha set at 0.05. Data analyses indicated that participants demonstrated higher impact and maximum loading rate of ground reaction force, longer stride length, shorter contact time, and smaller touchdown ankle inversion as well as larger ankle sagittal range of motion (RoM), but smaller frontal RoM in fast speed as compared with preferred P < 0.05 and slow speeds P < 0.001 . Although insole colour had minimal effect on mean values of any tested variables P > 0.05 , participants wearing red-coloured orthoses showed higher coefficient of variation values for maximum loading rate than wearing blue insoles P = 0.009 . These results suggest that running at faster speed would lead to higher impact loading and altered lower-limb mechanics and that colour used on the tops of insoles influences the wearers’ movement repeatability, with implications for use of foot insole in running.


2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 335-344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryu Nagahara ◽  
Yohei Takai ◽  
Miki Haramura ◽  
Mirai Mizutani ◽  
Akifumi Matsuo ◽  
...  

Purpose:We aimed to elucidate age-related differences in spatiotemporal and ground reaction force variables during sprinting in boys over a broad range of chronological ages.Methods:Ground reaction force signals during 50-m sprinting were recorded in 99 boys aged 6.5–15.4 years. Step-to-step spatiotemporal variables and mean forces were then calculated.Results:There was a slower rate of development in sprinting performance in the age span from 8.8 to 12.1 years compared with younger and older boys. During that age span, mean propulsive force was almost constant, and step frequency for older boys was lower regardless of sprinting phase. During the ages younger than 8.8 years and older than 12.1 years, sprint performance rapidly increased with increasing mean propulsive forces during the middle acceleration and maximal speed phases and during the initial acceleration phase.Conclusion:There was a stage of temporal slower development of sprinting ability from age 8.8 to 12.1 years, being characterized by unchanged propulsive force and decreased step frequency. Moreover, increasing propulsive forces during the middle acceleration and maximal speed phases and during the initial acceleration phase are probably responsible for the rapid development of sprinting ability before and after the period of temporal slower development of sprinting ability.


2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 232596711877572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine D. Pollard ◽  
Justin A. Ter Har ◽  
J.J. Hannigan ◽  
Marc F. Norcross

Background: Lower extremity injuries are common among runners. Recent trends in footwear have included minimal and maximal running shoe types. Maximal running shoes are unique because they provide the runner with a highly cushioned midsole in both the rearfoot and forefoot. However, little is known about how maximal shoes influence running biomechanics. Purpose: To examine the influence of maximal running shoes on biomechanics before and after a 5-km (5K) run as compared with neutral running shoes. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Fifteen female runners participated in 2 testing sessions (neutral shoe session and maximal shoe session), with 7 to 10 days between sessions. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were collected while participants ran along a 10-m runway. After 5 running trials, participants completed a 5K treadmill run, followed by 5 additional running trials. Variables of interest included impact peak of the vertical ground-reaction force, loading rate, and peak eversion. Differences were determined by use of a series of 2-way repeated-measures analysis of variance models (shoe × time). Results: A significant main effect was found for shoe type for impact peak and loading rate. When the maximal shoe was compared with the neutral shoe before and after the 5K run, participants exhibited an increased loading rate (mean ± SE: pre–maximal shoe, 81.15 body weights/second [BW/s] and pre–neutral shoe, 60.83 BW/s [ P < .001]; post–maximal shoe, 79.10 BW/s and post–neutral shoe, 61.22 BW/s [ P = .008]) and increased impact peak (pre–maximal shoe, 1.76 BW and pre–neutral shoe, 1.58 BW [ P = .004]; post–maximal shoe, 1.79 BW and post–neutral shoe, 1.55 BW [ P = .003]). There were no shoe × time interactions and no significant findings for peak eversion. Conclusion: Runners exhibited increased impact forces and loading rate when running in a maximal versus neutral shoe. Because increases in these variables have been associated with an increased risk of running-related injuries, runners who are new to running in a maximal shoe may be at an increased risk of injury. Clinical Relevance: Understanding the influence of running footwear as an intervention that affects running biomechanics is important for clinicians so as to reduce patient injury.


2011 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 54-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria H. Stiles ◽  
Igor N. Guisasola ◽  
Iain T. James ◽  
Sharon J. Dixon

Integrated biomechanical and engineering assessments were used to determine how humans responded to variations in turf during running and turning. Ground reaction force (AMTI, 960 Hz) and kinematic data (Vicon Peak Motus, 120 Hz) were collected from eight participants during running (3.83 m/s) and turning (10 trials per condition) on three natural turf surfaces in the laboratory. Surface hardness (Clegg hammer) and shear strength (cruciform shear vane) were measured before and after participant testing. Peak loading rate during running was significantly higher (p < .05) on the least hard surface (sandy; 101.48 BW/s ± 23.3) compared with clay (84.67 BW/s ± 22.9). There were no significant differences in running kinematics. Compared with the “medium” condition, fifth MTP impact velocities during turning were significantly (RM-ANOVA, p < .05) lower on clay (resultant: 2.30 m/s [± 0.68] compared with 2.64 m/s [± 0.70]), which was significantly (p < .05) harder “after” and had the greatest shear strength both “before” and “after” participant testing. This unique finding suggests that further study of foot impact velocities are important to increase understanding of overuse injury mechanisms.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Matthew K. Seeley ◽  
Seong Jun Son ◽  
Hyunsoo Kim ◽  
J. Ty Hopkins

Context: Patellofemoral pain (PFP) is often categorized by researchers and clinicians using subjective self-reported PFP characteristics; however, this practice might mask important differences in movement biomechanics between PFP patients. Objective: To determine whether biomechanical differences exist during a high-demand multiplanar movement task for PFP patients with similar self-reported PFP characteristics but different quadriceps activation levels. Design: Cross-sectional design. Setting: Biomechanics laboratory. Participants: A total of 15 quadriceps deficient and 15 quadriceps functional (QF) PFP patients with similar self-reported PFP characteristics. Intervention: In total, 5 trials of a high-demand multiplanar land, cut, and jump movement task were performed. Main Outcome Measures: Biomechanics were compared at each percentile of the ground contact phase of the movement task (α = .05) between the quadriceps deficient and QF groups. Biomechanical variables included (1) whole-body center of mass, trunk, hip, knee, and ankle kinematics; (2) hip, knee, and ankle kinetics; and (3) ground reaction forces. Results: The QF patients exhibited increased ground reaction force, joint torque, and movement, relative to the quadriceps deficient patients. The QF patients exhibited: (1) up to 90, 60, and 35 N more vertical, posterior, and medial ground reaction force at various times of the ground contact phase; (2) up to 4° more knee flexion during ground contact and up to 4° more plantarflexion and hip extension during the latter parts of ground contact; and (3) up to 26, 21, and 48 N·m more plantarflexion, knee extension, and hip extension torque, respectively, at various times of ground contact. Conclusions: PFP patients with similar self-reported PFP characteristics exhibit different movement biomechanics, and these differences depend upon quadriceps activation levels. These differences are important because movement biomechanics affect injury risk and athletic performance. In addition, these biomechanical differences indicate that different therapeutic interventions may be needed for PFP patients with similar self-reported PFP characteristics.


2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 2473011418S0048
Author(s):  
Adam Tenforde ◽  
Haylee Donaghe Borgstrom ◽  
Steve Jamison ◽  
Irene Davis

Category: Sports Introduction/Purpose: It is well established that elevated vertical loadrates on footstrike are a risk factor for developing running injuries. Overstriding, or increased foot and tibial angles at footstrike, has been theorized to increase loading rate. Thus, it is often suggested that runners shorten their stride to reduce their injury risk. However, the relationship between landing alignment and loadrates has not been well established in current literature. Thus, we aimed to investigate the relationship between sagittal plane foot angle (FA) and tibial angle (TA) with vertical loadrates in both healthy and injured forefoot (FFS) and rearfoot strike (RFS) runners. It was hypothesized that as FA and TA increased, loadrate would increase for all runners. Methods: This is an ongoing study with 52 healthy runners (35 RFS, 17 FFS) and 24 injured runners (14 RFS, 10 FFS) for a total of 76 runners (51 M, 25 F; age34.3±11.4 yrs). Vertical average loadrate (VALR) and vertical instantaneous loadrate (VILR) were obtained while running at 2.68 m/s on an instrumented treadmill. All runners reported 0/10 pain during the assessment. Sagittal plane FA and TA at footstrike were measured from video recording using an open-source program. Positive FA designated RFS. Positive TA was defined as ankle anterior to the knee. Between-group differences were evaluated using paired two-tailed t-tests. Correlation coefficients (r) were computed for FA and TA with VALR and VILR (p=0.05; trend: p =0.10). Results: Healthy RFS - FA and TA were negatively correlated with VALR and VILR. Injured RFS – There was a trend toward negative correlation between TA and both VALR and VILR. Healthy FFS – TA was negatively correlated with both loadrates. Injured FFS – There were no significant correlations. Correlation coefficients, slopes, and p values are presented in Table 1. VALR and VILR were higher in RFS vs FFS runners (56±20 vs 40±10, 69±25 vs 54±12 BW/s, p<0.01), but were not significantly different for healthy vs injured runners (52±19 vs 56±26, 63±21 vs 67±27 BW/s, p=0.4). Conclusion: In contrast to current thought, preliminary results suggest that increasing FA and TA at footstrike are associated with decreasing vertical loadrates. This relationship was strongest for FA in the healthy RFS runners and weakest for FA in both the healthy and injured FFS runners. With increased FA, load attenuation may be due to increased eccentric activity of the tibialis anterior as well as increased knee flexion excursion and eccentric quadriceps activity with increased TA.


2013 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 80-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soledad Echegoyen ◽  
Takeshi Aoyama ◽  
Cristina Rodríguez

Zapateado is a repetitive percussive footwork in dance. This percussive movement, and the differences in technique, may be risk factors for injury. A survey on zapateado dance students found a rate of 1.5 injuries/1,000 exposures. Knee injuries are more frequent than in Spanish dancers than folkloric dancers. The aim of this research was to study the relationship between technique and ground reaction force between zapateado on Spanish and Mexican folkloric dancers. Ten female dance students (age 22.4 ± 4 yrs), six Spanish dancers and four Mexican folkloric dancers, were considered. Each student performed zapateado with a flat foot, wearing high-heeled shoes during 5 seconds on a force platform. Videotapes were taken on a lateral plane, and knee and hip angles in each movement phase were measured with Dartfish software. Additionally, knee and ankle flexor and extensor strength was measured with a dynamometer. Ground reaction forces were lower for Spanish dancers than Mexican folkloric dancers. Spanish dancers had less knee flexion when the foot contacted to the ground than did Mexican folkloric dancers. On Spanish dancers, the working leg had more motion in relation to hip and knee angles than was seen in folkloric dancers. The ankle extensors were stronger on folkloric dancers, and there were no differences for the other muscle groups. Knee flexion at foot contact and muscle strength imbalance could be risk factors for injuries. It is suggested that the technique in Spanish dance in Mexico be reviewed, although more studies are required to define more risk factors.


2020 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 541-546
Author(s):  
Caroline Lisee ◽  
Tom Birchmeier ◽  
Arthur Yan ◽  
Brent Geers ◽  
Kaitlin O’Hagan ◽  
...  

Context: Landing kinetic outcomes are associated with injury risk and may be persistently altered after anterior cruciate ligament injury or reconstruction. However, it is challenging to assess kinetics clinically. The relationship between sound characteristics and kinetics during a limited number of functional tasks has been supported as a potential clinical alternative. Objective: To assess the relationship between kinetics and sound characteristics during a single-leg landing task. Design: Observational Setting: Laboratory. Participants: There was total of 26 healthy participants (15 males/11 females, age = 24.8 [3.6] y, height = 176.0 [9.1] cm, mass = 74.9 [14.4] kg, Tegner Activity Scale = 6.1 [1.1]). Intervention: Participants completed single-leg landings onto a force plate while audio characteristics were recorded. Main Outcome Measures: Peak vertical ground reaction force, linear loading rate, instantaneous loading rate, peak sound magnitude, sound frequency were measured. Means and SDs were calculated for each participant’s individual limbs. Spearman rho correlations were used to assess the relationships between audio characteristics and kinetic outcomes. Results: Peak sound magnitude was positively correlated with normalized peak vertical ground reaction force (ρ = .486, P = .001); linear loading rate (ρ = .491, P = .001); and instantaneous loading rate (ρ = .298, P = .03). Sound frequency was negatively correlated with instantaneous loading rate (ρ = −.444, P = .001). Conclusions: Peak sound magnitude may be more helpful in providing feedback about an individual’s normalized vertical ground reaction force and linear loading rate, and sound frequency may be more helpful in providing feedback about instantaneous loading rate. Further refinement in sound measurement techniques may be required before these findings can be applied in a clinical population.


2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 968-973 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.J. Hannigan ◽  
Christine D. Pollard

Background: A recent study suggested that maximal running shoes may increase the impact force and loading rate of the vertical ground-reaction force during running. It is currently unknown whether runners will adapt to decrease the impact force and loading rate over time. Purpose: To compare the vertical ground-reaction force and ankle kinematics between maximal and traditional shoes before and after a 6-week acclimation period to the maximal shoe. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: Participants ran in a traditional running shoe and a maximal running shoe during 2 testing sessions 6 weeks apart. During each session, 3-dimensional kinematics and kinetics were collected during overground running. Variables of interest included the loading rate, impact peak, and active peak of the vertical ground-reaction force, as well as eversion and dorsiflexion kinematics. Two-way repeated measures analyses of variance compared data within participants. Results: No significant differences were observed in any biomechanical variable between time points. The loading rate and impact peak were higher in the maximal shoe. Runners were still everted at toe-off and landed with less dorsiflexion, on average, in the maximal shoe. Conclusion: Greater loading rates and impact forces were previously found in maximal running shoes, which may indicate an increased risk of injury. The eversion mechanics observed in the maximal shoes may also increase the risk of injury. A 6-week transition to maximal shoes did not significantly change any of these measures. Clinical Relevance: Maximal running shoes are becoming very popular and may be considered a treatment option for some injuries. The biomechanical results of this study do not support the use of maximal running shoes. However, the effect of these shoes on pain and injury rates is unknown.


2010 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 159-170 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbey C. Thomas ◽  
Scott G. McLean ◽  
Riann M. Palmieri-Smith

Neuromuscular fatigue exacerbates abnormal landing strategies, which may increase noncontact anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury risk. The synergistic actions of quadriceps and hamstrings (QH) muscles are central to an upright landing posture, though the precise effect of simultaneous fatigue of these muscles on landing and ACL injury risk is unclear. Elucidating neuromechanical responses to QH fatigue thus appears important in developing more targeted fatigue-resistance intervention strategies. The current study thus aimed to examine the effects of QH fatigue on lower extremity neuromechanics during dynamic activity. Twenty-five healthy male and female volunteers performed three single-leg forward hops onto a force platform before and after QH fatigue. Fatigue was induced through sets of alternating QH concentric contractions, on an isokinetic dynamometer, until the first five repetitions of a set were performed at least 50% below QH peak torque. Three-dimensional hip and knee kinematics and normalized (body mass × height) kinetic variables were quantified for pre- and postfatigue landings and subsequently analyzed by way of repeated- measures mixed-model ANOVAs. QH fatigue produced significant increases in initial contact (IC) hip internal rotation and knee extension and external rotation angles (p< .05), with the increases in knee extension and external rotation being maintained at the time of peak vertical ground reaction force (vGRF) (p< .05). Larger knee extension and smaller knee fexion and external rotation moments were also evident at peak vGRF following fatigue (p< .05). Females landed with greater hip fexion and less abduction than males at both IC and peak vGRF as well as greater knee fexion at peak vGRF (p< .05). The peak vGRF was larger for females than males (p< .05). No sex × fatigue effects were found (p> .05). Fatigue of the QH muscles altered hip and knee neuromechanics, which may increase the risk of ACL injury. Prevention programs should incorporate methods aimed at countering QH fatigue.


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