Abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate plantar loads characteristics of habitual forefoot strike runners while running on different surfaces. Twenty-six runners (age: 28.2 ± 6.8 y, height: 172.9 ± 4.1 cm, weight: 67.7 ± 9.6 kg, BMI (body mass index): 22.6 ± 2.8 kg/m2, running age: 5.0 ± 4.2 y, running distance per week: 14.6 ± 11.7 km) with habitual forefoot strike participated in the study. Runners were instructed to run at 3.3 ± 0.2 m/s on three surfaces: grass, synthetic rubber and concrete. An in-shoe pressure measurement system was used to collect and analyze plantar loads data. Running on the synthetic rubber surface produced a lower plantar pressure in the lateral forefoot (256.73 kPa vs. 281.35 kPa, p = 0.006) than running on concrete. Compared with the concrete surface, lower pressure–time integrals were shown at the central forefoot (46.71 kPa⋅s vs. 50.73 kPa⋅s, p = 0.001) and lateral forefoot (36.13 kPa⋅s vs. 39.36 kPa⋅s, p = 0.004) when running on the synthetic rubber surface. The different surfaces influence plantar loads of habitual forefoot strikers and runners should choose appropriate overground surface to reduce the risk of lower extremity musculoskeletal injuries.
Highlights
Running is recognized for its health benefits and low cost as a popular exercise [1]
The hypothesis in the current study was that lower plantar loads would be found on rubber and grass surfaces when compared with the loads on concrete surface
Our hypothesis was partially supported because running on synthetic rubber showed significantly lower plantar pressure in lateral forefoot and lower pressure-time integral in central forefoot and lateral forefoot when compared to running on concrete
Summary
Running is recognized for its health benefits and low cost as a popular exercise [1]. Running is related to a high risk of injuries rate varying from 19.4% to 79.3% at the lower limbs [2]. Many factors contributed to running injuries, such as shod conditions [3], training volume per week [4]. The overground surface is an essential factor that has been studied in recent years [6,7]. Many investigators have identified the overground surface as an important variable that can affect load absorption mechanisms as revealed in the kinematics and kinetics of the lower limbs during running [7,8,9,10]. The overground surface plays an important part to prevent running injuries [4]
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