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THE EFFECT OF AN ANTI-GRAVITY TREADMILL ON RUNNING CADENCE
Josie Stockland1, M Russell Giveans1, Peter Ames1
1Fairview Health Services, Institute for Athletic Medicine, Minneapolis, MN, USA.
International Journal of Sports Physical Therapy
|December 6, 2019
Summary
Running on an anti-gravity treadmill significantly lowers natural running cadence as body weight support increases. Most participants could replicate or increase cadence despite reduced body weight.
Area of Science:
- Biomechanics
- Exercise Physiology
- Sports Science
Background:
- Running cadence (step rate) is a key metric in gait analysis and retraining.
- Anti-gravity treadmills reduce body weight, altering the running environment.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the effect of anti-gravity treadmills on natural running cadence compared to standard treadmills.
- To assess the impact of varying body weight support levels on natural and increased running cadence.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 30 participants running on an anti-gravity treadmill at various body weight support levels (20-100%).
- Cadence was measured at self-selected speeds.
- A subset of 9 participants attempted to replicate/increase their natural cadence at different body weight conditions.
Main Results:
- Running cadence significantly decreased linearly with each 10% reduction in body weight on the anti-gravity treadmill (p<.01).
- Cadence decreased by 1.5%-3.5% between each body weight interval.
- 77.8% of participants successfully replicated or increased their cadence across all body weight levels.
Conclusions:
- Reduced body weight on an anti-gravity treadmill leads to a significant, linear decrease in running cadence at moderate intensity.
- Most individuals can maintain or increase their cadence even with substantial body weight support.
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