Running to the beat: Does listening to music affect running cadence and lower extremity biomechanics?

Gait retraining can be effective in altering lower extremity biomechanics and reducing risk of injury. In attempts to alter running gait, previous studies used metronomes to manipulate cadence.

The aim of this study was to determine if manipulating running cadence via music could alter lower extremity biomechanics.

Eighteen runners ran at a self-selected speed (SS) and ran to music where the beats per minute (bpm) of the songs was increased by 5% (+5%) and 10% (+10%). Kinematic and kinetic data were collected with a motion capture system and a triaxial accelerometer. A one-way repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to test the effect of bpm (SS, +5%, +10%) on cadence, heart rate and peak vertical acceleration. A statistical parametric mapping (SPM) one-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to test the effect of bpm on the sagittal plane kinematic signals during stance phase.

There was a significant main effect for bpm on the discrete metrics. Post hoc tests showed significant differences in heartrate from SS to + 5%, + 5% to + 10%, and SS to 10%. There were no significant differences between cadence or peak acceleration.

In the current study, listening to music with faster bpm was not shown to increase cadence and decrease peak tibial accelerations during running.