Classifying the variability in impact and active peak vertical ground reaction forces during running using DFA and
Samantha L Winter1, John H Challis2
1School of Sport and Exercise Sciences, University of Kent, Medway Building, Chatham Maritime, Chatham, Kent ME4 4AG, UK; Biomechanics Laboratory, Department of Kinesiology, 29K Recreation Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
Human Movement Science
|January 10, 2017
Summary
Running injuries may be linked to how the body controls impact forces. This study found different control mechanisms for impact peak magnitude and active peak magnitude during running.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Human movement analysis
- Sports science
Background:
- Vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) during running shows impact and active peaks.
- The timing and magnitude of these VGRF peaks are associated with running injuries.
- Understanding time-series structure offers insight into running control processes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate long-range correlations in running biomechanics.
- To analyze the time from first contact to impact peak (TIP) and active peak (TAP).
- To quantify the magnitudes of impact peak (IPM) and active peak (APM) during running.
Main Methods:
- Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (DFA) and Auto-Regressive Fractionally Integrated Moving Average (ARFIMA) models were employed.
- Twelve subjects ran for 8 minutes at a preferred speed on an instrumented treadmill.
- VGRF data were collected, and TIP, TAP, IPM, and APM were extracted for each footfall.
Main Results:
- TIP and TAP time-series lacked long-range correlations.
- IPM and APM time-series exhibited long-range correlations.
- IPM showed short-range correlations, while APM displayed power-law behavior and long-range dependencies.
Conclusions:
- The control mechanisms for impact peak magnitude and active peak magnitude in running appear to differ.
- These findings support the hypothesis of distinct neural control strategies for different VGRF components.
- Further research into running biomechanics and injury prevention is warranted.
