Effects of Changing Foot Strike Patterns

The Immediate Effects of Changes in Habitual Foot Strike Patterns on Running Metrics and Muscle Activations During 1-Mile Time Trial Run on Non-Motorized Curved Treadmill

Presenter: Sarah Nash

Co-Presenter(s):
Tania Salazar, Karina Alvarado, Morgan Kimble

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Academic Year: 22-23

Semester: Spring

Department: Kinesiology

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program

Abstract:
Foot strike patterns fall into two general categories: rearfoot and non-rearfoot striking (RFS vs NRFS). Each is associated with different stress loads on different parts of the lower body, and thus some athletic trainers promote changing foot strike patterns to improve running performance. The present study aims to investigate the immediate effect of changes in the foot strike patterns from habitual to imposed foot strike patterns on a 1-mile time trial and muscle activations. Participants are currently running a minimum of 10 miles a week, aged between 18 and 45 years old, and are free from any musculoskeletal injuries and/or pains that prevent physical activity (1 Male: age = 35 yrs, height = 180 cm, body mass = 81.25 kg, running mileage = 10 miles/wk). Participants visited the lab on three separate days for a familiarization and two data collection sessions. Each session includes isometric strength tests for knee and ankle joints with electromyography (EMG) for Maximal Voluntary Isometric Contraction (MVIC) of the Tibialis Anterior (TA), Gastrocnemius (GAS), Vastus Medialis (VM), and Biceps Femoris (BF). Participants were running with their habitual or imposed foot strike patterns on the non-motorized curved treadmill for a 1-mile time trial. The EMG signals were collected at 200, 600, 1000, and 1400 m points. The EMG signals of each muscle were normalized by the MVIC signal (% MVIC). MVIC of TA decreased when running with imposed NRFS, but increased in other muscles. A 1-mile run time trial was improved from 9:04.58 to 8:49.47.