Reliability of Soft Tissue Vibration Measurement and Number of Steps Demanded during Treadmill Running

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Sports Science
• Human Movement Analysis

Background:

• Assessing lower limb muscle responses during running is crucial for understanding injury mechanisms and performance.
• Quantifying foot impact and soft tissue vibrations provides insights into loading patterns.
• Test-retest reliability is essential for validating measurement tools in running studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the test-retest reliability of foot impact (INPUT) and soft tissue vibration (STV) measurements.
• To evaluate the reliability of INPUT and STV for gastrocnemius medialis (GAS) and vastus lateralis (VL) muscles during treadmill running.
• To assess intra-trial, inter-trial, and inter-day reliability of these running parameters.

Main Methods:

• Twenty-six recreational runners performed three running trials at 10 km/h within two days.
• Triaxial accelerometers measured INPUT and STV of GAS and VL muscles over 100 steps.
• Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC) was used to calculate reliability.

Main Results:

• Most INPUT and GAS STV parameters demonstrated good to excellent intra-trial reliability (ICC > 0.75).
• Fewer VL STV parameters showed good reliability, with reduced reliability across trials and days.
• Reliability improved with more steps for inter-trial measurements and remained good for inter-day comparisons.

Conclusions:

• Foot impact and calf muscle vibration measurements exhibit good to excellent reliability within a single session.
• Reliability is maintained when measurements are taken across two days.
• Recommends performing impact and STV measurements during treadmill running within the same experimental session for optimal consistency.