Showing 2 results for Running Economy
Shahin Ketabi, Uwe Gustav Kersting, Anderson de Souza Castelo Oliveira,
Volume 4, Issue 1 (2-2022)
Abstract
Highlights
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Substantial mechanical energy will have returned by shoe integrated and that energy could be stored in the Muscle Tendon Units.
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Heel spring potentially changes energy exchange in the triceps surae.
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Running Economy is related to many factors such as running style and individually properties.
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Ankle joint kinematics can be altered which potentially affects energy return within the musculoskeletal system.
Objective: Running economy (RE) is a performance variable for distance runners. It can be affected by parameters such as equipment, running technique and surface. It has been shown that substantial mechanical energy will return by shoe integrated and that energy could be stored in the Muscle Tendon Units (MTU). The purpose was to investigate the influence of three difference heel positions induced by insoles on lower limb muscular activity and VO2 and RE (performance variable) changes during steady state running. It was hypothesized that with decreasing heel spring a linear increase in RE would be observed.
Methods: Fifteen healthy trained male runners were tested on a treadmill submaximal pace while surface electromyography (EMG) from nine muscles of leg and thigh, the VO2 by spirometry and kinematics by 2D video camera was measured. Subjects had to run in three insoles Up Heel (UH) (14 mm heel spring), Flat insole/Heel (FH) and negative spring (DH) (Down Heel) (forefoot 5 mm higher). Data were analyzed with a repeated- measures ANOVA for significant differences between shoe insoles (p<0.05).
Results: Ankle kinematics was systematically altered in response to the inserts (expected) by VO2 and running economy was not changed. It was shown that not all subject followed the implied changes so when looking at 10 responders a higher activity for Tibialis Anterior (TA) was shown.
Conclusion: It was concluded that heel spring potentially changes energy exchange in the triceps-surae while changes in muscle coordination may compensate for these improvements. RE is related to many factors such as running style and individually properties.
Shahin Ketabi, Uwe Gustav Kersting,
Volume 4, Issue 2 (5-2022)
Abstract
Background: This article systematically reviews the available literature on biomechanically motivated interventions to improve running economy aside from conventional endurance training. It was aimed to identify the possible mechanisms behind the potential improvements and to extract principles to guide researchers and coaches in how to make use of this potential.
Evidence acquisition: The search strategy yielded 26 intervention papers and four reviews which were suitable for inclusion.
Results: It was concluded that plyometric and strength training protocols were consistently beneficial to reduce the oxygen consumption per distance traveled in steady state running showing an average effect size of 3.8%. Footwear interventions showed smaller effects of 1.9% on average but still may offer considerable improvements which can potentially be applied immediately.
Conclusions: It was suggested that the energy consumption savings achieved by footwear interventions are not realizable by energy return mechanisms of the footwear alone. It is most likely that footwear assists to improve RE by optimizing energy storage and return mechanisms within the biological system. Future research should aim at verifying this interplay to provide more efficient training programs as well as footwear which ameliorates the utilization of the mechanisms embedded within the human locomotor system.
