Reduced oxygen cost of running is related to alignment of the resultant GRF and leg axis vector: A pilot study

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Author
Moore, Isabel
Jones, Andrew
Dixon, Sharon
Date
2015Type
Article
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons
ISSN
0905-7188
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Purpose: This pilot study investigated whether a ten-week running programme (10wkRP), which reduced the oxygen cost of running, affected resultant ground reaction force (GRF), leg axis alignment, joint moment characteristics and gear ratios. Methods: Ten novice, female runners completed a 10wkRP. Running kinematics and kinetics, in addition to oxygen consumption (VO2) " during steady-state running, were recorded pre- and post-10wkRP. Results: VO2 decreased (8%) from pre-10wkRP to post-10wkRP. There was a better alignment of the resultant GRF and leg axis at peak propulsion post-10wkRP compared to pre-10wkRP (10.8 ± 4.9 vs. 1.6 ± 1.2°), as the resultant GRF vector was applied 7 ± 0.6° (p=0.008) more horizontally. There were shorter external ankle moment arms (24%) and smaller knee extensor moments (23%) at peak braking post-10wkRP. The change in VO2 was associated with the change in alignment of the resultant GRF and leg axis (rs = 0.88, p=0.003). Conclusion: As runners became more economical they exhibited a more aligned resultant GRF vector and leg axis at peak propulsion. This appears to be a self-optimisation strategy that may improve performance. Additionally, changes to external ankle moment arms indicated beneficial low gear ratios were achieved at the time of peak braking force.
Journal/conference proceeding
Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports
Citation
Moore, I.S., Jones, A.M. and Dixon, S.J. (2015) 'Reduced oxygen cost of running is related to alignment of the resultant GRF and leg axis vector: a pilot study', Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports.
Description
This article was published in Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sports on 06 July 2015 (online), available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/sms.12514 The author's post-print was made available from 06 July 2016
Collections
- Sport Research Groups [1089]
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