The natural shock absorption of the leg spring

When a human being runs, muscles, tendons, and ligaments together behave like a single linear spring. This "leg spring" can be described remarkably well by spring/mass models. Although leg-stiffness during running (and logically, therefore, in hopping) has been shown to be adjusted in line with the individual characteristics of the external contact surface, the relative contribution of each of the sub-components of the leg spring to the mechanics of running is unclear. We proposed the three-degree-of-freedom leg spring chain in a position of stable equilibrium under the action of the leg stiffness. If the leg spring receives a displacement in hopping, the forces will no longer equilibrate, but the system will be exposed to the action of a force on a leg spring chain. We thus have two corresponding sets of modes, one set being the mode about which the chain is displaced, the other set for the forces which are evoked in consequence of the displacement. We found that if the leg has been displaced from a position of equilibrium about one of harmonic modes, then a vibration about this harmonic mode evokes a system of forces in the leg spring which in its turn tends to produce a motion on the original harmonic mode, and thus produce oscillation about the same harmonic mode. Our results suggest that the desired harmonic mode can be explained in terms of the natural shock absorption ability of the leg.