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Use of performance indicators in the analysis of running gait impacts

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Abstract

Foot-ground impact is a critical event during the running cycle. In this work, three performance indicators were used to characterize foot-ground impact intensity: the effective pre-impact kinetic energy, representative elements of the effective mass matrix, and the critical coefficient of friction. These performance indicators can be obtained from the inertial properties of the biomechanical system and its pre-impact mechanical state, avoiding the need to carry out force measurements. Ground reaction forces and kinematic data were collected from the running motion of an adult that adopted both rear-foot and fore-foot strike patterns. Different running cycles were analysed and statistical tests performed. Results showed that the three proposed indicators are able to illustrate significant differences between fore-foot and rear-foot strike impacts. They also support the hypothesis that fore-foot strike reduces impact intensity. On the other hand, a higher likelihood of slipping during the contact onset is associated with fore-foot strike pattern.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported in part by he Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada. The second author was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy through its post-doctoral research program Juan de la Cierva, contract No. JCI-2012-12376. The support is gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Biomedical Engineering Research Centre (CREB), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Av. Diagonal 647, 08028, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain

    Rosa Pàmies-Vilà & Josep M. Font-Llagunes

  2. Laboratorio de Ingeniería Mecánica, University of A Coruña, Ferrol, Spain

    Francisco González

  3. Department of Mechanical Engineering and Centre for Intelligent Machines, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    József Kövecses

Authors
  1. Rosa Pàmies-Vilà
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  3. József Kövecses
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  4. Josep M. Font-Llagunes
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Correspondence to Rosa Pàmies-Vilà.

Appendices

Appendix A: Anthropometric parameters

Table 4 contains the anthropometric parameters used in this study. The position of the center of mass of each segment \(( {x'_{G}} _{i}, {y'_{G}} _{i} )\) is expressed using the local coordinate system with the origin at the proximal joint (see Fig. 2). The moments of inertia of the segments are calculated with respect to the local basis attached to its COM. It is assumed that the \((X', Y')\) axes are the principal directions of inertia and \(( {I'_{G}} _{i})\) are the principal moments of inertia about the COM.

Table 4 Anthropometric data for the 2D model with 12 segments
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Appendix B: Box plots results

Figures 14, 15 and 16 show the full variation range of the performance indicators defined in Sect. 3. Their likely range of variation and a typical value, the median, are represented with box plots. The shaded boxes correspond to results from experiment series 1, in which the subject was running on hard ground. The white boxes represent data obtained in the experiments conducted on the treadmill during series 2. These figures highlight the reduced variability of the measurements when the subject runs on a treadmill, while confirming that in both series of experiments the values of the configuration-dependent indicators remained within similar ranges.

Fig. 14
figure 14

\({T_{c}^{-}}\) and \(\xi \) box plots for both foot strike patterns, RFS and FFS

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Fig. 15
figure 15

\({{m}_{\mathrm {eff}}} \) and \({\chi }\) box plots for both foot strike patterns, RFS and FFS

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Fig. 16
figure 16

\({{\mu }_{c}} \) box plots for both foot strike patterns, RFS and FFS

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Pàmies-Vilà, R., González, F., Kövecses, J. et al. Use of performance indicators in the analysis of running gait impacts. Multibody Syst Dyn 43, 131–151 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11044-017-9580-9

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