EFFECT OF FOOT STRIKE PATTERN ON AXIAL AND TRANSVERSE SHOCK SEVERITY DURING DOWNHILL TRAIL RUNNING

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the influence of foot strike pattern (FSP) on shock severity and attenuation during a downhill trail run. Twenty-three runners performed a 6.5-km downhill run (-1 264 m) equipped with four tri-axial accelerometers placed at tibia, sacrum, heel and metatarsals. FSP was identified using time difference between heel and metatarsals peak accelerations. Peak accelerations, median frequencies, and shock attenuation were calculated from tibial and sacral axial, anteroposterior and resultant accelerations over six sections during the run. Linear regressions analysis revealed that FSP affected differently the components of shock acceleration, i.e. although anterior FSPs enlarged shock severity along the tibial axial axis, they lowered shock severity along the tibial and sacral antero-posterior axis.