METABOLIC AND MECHANICAL ASPECTS OF FOOT LANDING TYPE, FOREFOOT AND REARFOOT STRIKE, IN HUMAN RUNNING

The study was undertaken to assess the metabolic and the mechanical as pects of two different foot strike patterns in running, i.e. forefoot and rearfoot striking (FFS and RFS), and to understand whether there i s some advantage for a runner to use one or the other of the two landi ng styles. Eight subjects performed two series of runs (FFS and RFS) o n a treadmill at an average speed of 2.50, 2.78, 3.06, 3.33, 3.61, 3.8 9, 4.17 m s(-1) Step frequency, oxygen uptake, mechanical work, and it s two components, external and internal, were measured. No differences were found for step frequency, mechanical internal work per unit time and oxygen uptake, while external and total mechanical work per unit time were significantly higher, 7-12%, for FFS. The higher external wo rk was the result of an increase of the work performed against both gr avitational and inertial forces. As the energy expenditure was the sam e it has been speculated that a higher storage and release of energy t akes place in the elastic structures of the lower leg with FFS. In a d ifferent series of experiments on six subjects contact time, time of d eceleration and time of acceleration were measured by means of a video camera while running on the treadmill at 2.50, 3.33 and 4.17 m s(-1), both FFS and RFS. Time of deceleration is similar for FFS and RFS, bu t contact time and time of acceleration are shorter, respectively 12 a nd 25%, for FFS. As the average speed is considered equal to the ratio of the distance travelled when the foot is on the ground to the conta ct time and this distance tends to level off at high speed, mainly for anatomical constraint, it is conceivable that, beside other mechanica l or metabolic factors, FFS is an obligatory choice for sprinters and middle distance runners to attain higher speed.