Concurrent Evolution of Biomechanical and Physiological Parameters With Running-Induced Acute Fatigue.

Gäelle Prigent,Kamiar Aminian,Anisoara Paraschiv-Ionescu,Vincent Gremeaux,Salil Apte,Cyril Besson

doi:10.3389/fphys.2022.814172

Gäelle Prigent, Kamiar Aminian + Show 4 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.814172

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Abstract

Understanding the influence of running-induced acute fatigue on the homeostasis of the body is essential to mitigate the adverse effects and optimize positive adaptations to training. Fatigue is a multifactorial phenomenon, which influences biomechanical, physiological, and psychological facets. This work aimed to assess the evolution of these three facets with acute fatigue during a half-marathon. 13 recreational runners were equipped with one inertial measurement unit (IMU) on each foot, one combined global navigation satellite system-IMU-electrocardiogram sensor on the chest, and an Android smartphone equipped with an audio recording application. Spatio-temporal parameters for the running gait, along with the heart rate, its variability and complexity were computed using validated algorithms. Perceived fatigability was assessed using the rating-of-fatigue (ROF) scale at every 10 min of the race. The data was split into eight equal segments, corresponding to at least one ROF value per segment, and only level running parts were retained for analysis. During the race, contact time, duty factor, and trunk anteroposterior acceleration increased, and the foot strike angle and vertical stiffness decreased significantly. Heart rate showed a progressive increase, while the metrics for heart rate variability and complexity decreased during the race. The biomechanical parameters showed a significant alteration even with a small change in perceived fatigue, whereas the heart rate dynamics altered at higher changes. When divided into two groups, the slower runners presented a higher change in heart rate dynamics throughout the race than the faster runners; they both showed similar trends for the gait parameters. When tested for linear and non-linear correlations, heart rate had the highest association with biomechanical parameters, while the trunk anteroposterior acceleration had the lowest association with heart rate dynamics. These results indicate the ability of faster runners to better judge their physiological limits and hint toward a higher sensitivity of perceived fatigue to neuromuscular changes in the running gait. This study highlights measurable influences of acute fatigue, which can be studied only through concurrent measurement of biomechanical, physiological, and psychological facets of running in real-world conditions.

Highlights

The tremendous increase in the popularity of running (Rothschild, 2012) as a sport has hastened the need to understand the risk factors for running related injuries (RRI) arising out of maladaptation to training
We aimed to investigate the concurrent evolution of running biomechanics and heart rate dynamics in response to perceived fatigability for recreational runners, using body-worn smartphone, inertial measurement unit (IMU), global navigation satellite system (GNSS) and ECG sensors
Though the statistical tests reveal that the swing time and the peak swing vel. did not change significantly when comparing all three segments, significant differences are visible on the pairwise tests

Summary

Introduction

The tremendous increase in the popularity of running (Rothschild, 2012) as a sport has hastened the need to understand the risk factors for running related injuries (RRI) arising out of maladaptation to training. While the direct relation of biomechanical risk factors and training load to the instances of lower extremity RRIs is debated (Ceyssens et al, 2019; Fredette et al, 2021), these factors are understood to be influenced by acute fatigue, especially resulting from endurance running (Verschueren et al, 2020). In this context, acute fatigue can be understood as the decline in performance caused by physical exertion during sports (Knicker et al, 2011), measured during or immediately after the sporting activity. These two modalities are constrained to endpoint measurements and only useful for testing pre-to-post responses

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