Foot contact identification using a single triaxial accelerometer during running

Abstract

The analysis of in-field biomechanics data typically requires the identification of foot contact. Existing techniques to identify foot contact using accelerometers offer a viable option for identifying foot contact in the field. However, these techniques often require the placement of additional accelerometers or the identification of impact peaks, which can be difficult when peaks are low. Using resultant tibial acceleration to identify foot contact may overcome these limitations. The purpose of this study was to develop a new technique for identifying time of foot contact during rearfoot strike running from a single triaxial accelerometer placed on the distal tibia. Additionally, we sought to establish the concurrent validity of this new technique. An algorithm to identify foot contact from a local minimum in the resultant tibial acceleration waveform was developed and tested in nineteen rearfoot strike runners. Foot contact determined from the resultant tibial acceleration occurred 2.3 ± 4.7 ms earlier than foot contact determined from vertical ground reaction force, with 95% limits of agreement of −6.8 to 11.5 ms. The difference between the two methods was less than 10 ms for 183 out of 190 foot contacts. These findings compare favorably to previous techniques for identifying foot contact using accelerometers. Additionally, this technique can also be used when peak tibial accelerations are low. We recommend this technique to identify foot contacts in the field, particularly when some peak values are expected to be low.