Relationship between the Impact Peak Force and Lower Extremity Kinematics during Treadmill Running

Objective: The aims of this study were to determine the impact peak force and kinematic variables in running speed and investigate the relationship between them. Method: Thirty-nine male heel strike runners ($mean\;age=21.7{\pm}1.6y$, $mean\;mass=72.5{\pm}8.7kg$, $mean\;height=176.6{\pm}6.1cm$) were recruited in this investigation. The impact peak forces during treadmill running were assessed, and the kinematic variables were computed using three-dimensional data collected using eight infrared cameras (Oqus 300, Qualisys, Sweden). One-way analysis of variance ANOVAwas used to investigate the influence of the running speed on the parameters, and Pearson's partial correlation was used to investigate the relationship between the impact peak force and kinematic variables. Results: The running speed affected the impact peak force, stride length, stride frequency, and kinematic variables during the stride phase and the foot angle at heel contact; however, it did not affect the ankle and knee joint angles in the sagittal plane at heel contact. No significant correlation was noted between the impact peak force and kinematic variables in constantrunning speed. Conclusion: Increasing ankle and knee joint angles at heel contact may not be related to the mechanism behind reducing the impact peak force during treadmill running at constant speed.