Biomechanical Analysis of Long Distance Running on Different Sports Surfaces

Abstract

Running is one of the most accessible physical activities and long-distance running has attracted extensive attention in the past several years. While the incidence of running injuries, especially to the lower extremities, has increased. The objective of this study was to investigate the differences in ground reaction forces (GRF) and kinematic param between long-distance runners before and after long-distance running on treadmill (TM), asphalt road (AR), and plastic track (PT). Eight-camera Vicon motion analysis system was used to measure the hip, knee and ankle motion param of 10 healthy male subjects at a speed of 2.8 ± 0.2m/s. The hip, knee and ankle kinematics and the relationship of joint angles of lower limbs in the sagittal plane, coronal plane and transversal plane were analyzed. Ground reaction force (GRF) was collected using an AMTI force platform. The results showed that there were no significant differences in GRF and average loading rate (VALR). There was no significant difference in the range of motion (ROM) of ankle and hip after long-distance running on three surfaces compared to pre-test. Compared with stance-period of pre-test, the stance-period of AR and PT were significantly longer. Post hoc analyses exhibited the stance-period of AR and PT were longer than TM. In conclusion, runners can adjust different joints angles to maintain a similar GRF during long-distance running on different sports surfaces.