Wearables for Running Gait Analysis: A Systematic Review

Area of Science:

• Sports Medicine and Biomechanics
• Wearable Technology
• Gait Analysis

Background:

• Traditional running gait assessment relies on subjective observation or costly lab equipment.
• Wearable devices now enable continuous, real-world monitoring of running mechanics.
• Objective gait measurement is crucial for injury assessment and performance enhancement.

Approach:

• Systematic literature review across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SPORTDiscus.
• Extracted data on study design, participants, devices, outcomes, and findings.
• Analyzed 131 articles focusing on validity, reliability, and applied use of wearables in running gait analysis.

Key Points:

• Inertial measurement units (IMUs) and accelerometers were the most common wearable sensors.
• Studies predominantly featured young adult recreational runners, often indoors on treadmills.
• Wearables demonstrated validity and reliability in assessing running gait parameters like ground contact time and stride length.

Conclusions:

• Wearable sensors are effective tools for analyzing running gait in recreational runners.
• Current research often uses single IMU sensors and focuses on specific gait metrics.
• Further standardization of terminology, validity/reliability testing protocols, and outcome measures is needed.