Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics (한국운동역학회지)

Korean Society of Applied Biomechanics (한국운동역학회)
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Effect of Increasing Running Speed on Body Impact: Focusing on Frequency Analysis of Shock Acceleration

달리기 속도 증가가 인체 충격에 미치는 영향: 충격 가속도의 주파수 분석을 중심으로

  • Young-Seong Lee (Department of Sports & Technology, SeoKyeong University) ;
  • Soo-ji Han (Industry-University Cooperation Foundation, Pukyong National University)
  • Received : 2025.06.12
  • Accepted : 2025.07.09
  • Published : 2025.09.30
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Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to investigate how running speed influences impact characteristics across the human body by analyzing vertical ground reaction force, time-domain impact acceleration, and frequency-domain components. The focus was on quantifying changes in both impact and active force, segmental acceleration amplitudes, and high-frequency impact behavior. Method: Seventeen healthy recreational runners (age: 26.65 ± 4.73 years, height: 177.05 ± 3.46 cm, weight: 72.06 ± 10.13 kg) performed treadmill running at four different speeds (2.5, 3.0, 3.5, and 4.0 m/s). Vertical ground reaction force was collected and separated into impact and active components using low- and high-pass filtering at a 10 Hz cutoff. Tri-axial accelerometers were attached to five body segments (distal tibia, proximal tibia, L5, sternum, and head). Time-domain acceleration peaks were extracted in vertical, horizontal, and resultant directions. Frequency-domain analysis was conducted using the Welch method to compute peak frequency and power spectral density (PSD) within the 10-20 Hz band. Two-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess the effects of speed and body segment. Results: As running speed increased, both impact and active force significantly increased (p<.05). Time-domain acceleration magnitudes also rose significantly across all segments, with the distal and proximal tibia showing the largest increases. In the frequency domain, PSD values increased markedly with speed, especially in the lower limbs, while peak frequency remained relatively stable (13-16 Hz) without significant change. Notably, the proximal tibia exhibited consistently higher PSD values than the distal tibia in the high-frequency range. Vertical acceleration consistently showed the highest amplitude and PSD across all axes. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that increased running speed amplifies mechanical loading as reflected in ground reaction forces, segmental accelerations, and high-frequency impact content. The results highlight the role of the lower extremities, particularly the proximal tibia, in absorbing and potentially accumulating high-frequency vibrations. The observed discrepancy between time- and frequency-domain findings suggests complex transmission and damping behavior influenced by anatomical and tissue properties. These findings have implications for injury prevention, training strategies, and footwear design by emphasizing the need for targeted shock attenuation, especially during high-speed running.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea government (MSIT) (Grant number: 2022S1A5B5A17047398).

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