Kim Evans

Wednesday Lab

Lab 3 GRF

1. Which form of locomotion created the greatest vertical ground force? Why?

Running generated the greatest vertical ground force. It did because as the subject was running they
were putting more weight into the foot actively trying to push off from the ground. The toe off
would’ve created a greater propulsion.

2. Why could we see distinct heel plant/contact and toe off vertical forces during walking, but not
during jogging and running?

You can see the distinction between the heel and toe off in walking because of the double foot
stance. One foot constantly remains on the ground causing the weight to be distributed evenly so it
creates a “dip” in the graph. During jogging or running, one foot is elevated so the weight is not
being evenly distributed over the foot.

3. Based on this force analysis, which form of locomotion has the greatest potential for injury and
why? Explain what type of injuries could result and what modifications can be made to prevent
them from occurring?

I would say jogging or running. Both types created large relative vertical forces, but I do think
jogging is a bit more detrimental because you’re going slower so you’re going to take longer to finish
your mile run or so, so you’d be taking more steps leading to an overall greater amount of force. I
can understand though as to why running would have a greater potential for injury because you’re
most likely hitting the pavement a bit harder because the speed is increased a lot more so the
magnitude of force would be greater. There can be a variety of injuries to bones, ligaments, tendons
and joints. The most prominent type of injury seems to be the “shin splint”. Other injuries can occur
to the ankle, knee, hip joints etc. Plantar fasciitis is also common. Modifications that could be made
could be to just not run or jog, wear more cushiony shoes or wear minimalist shoes at put those
arches to work, run on softer surfaces, adopt a more heel-strike running gait, as it appears that that
seems to be slightly less detrimental, but that’s not conclusive.

4. Explain graph 2. Why are there negative values for y (A-P) forces? How can you have a negative
force? Why are the negative values different for the 3 types of locomotion?

There are negative values because those are representing the heel strike when the foot is slowing
down in the particular stance. The force is negative because it is acting downwards towards the
ground. The negative values are going to be different because the different locomotion types
produce different amounts of force. Walking will have the least and running the greatest because
the person is moving faster and using greater magnitude of force to move.

5. How would you determine impulse from the force platform graphical display for the walk, the jog,
or the run?

So impulse is the product of a force and the time interval over which the force acts (Basic
Biomechanics textbook). So you could determine the amount of impulse by taking the force and
multiplying it by the time interval from which that force acted. If the braking impulse area (negative
force) is greater than the propulsion (positive force) than that person would be slowing down during
that particular stance phase. Vice versa would also be true.

6. Given the force plate configuration used in class, in which plane of motion does the x value
describe? What motion of the foot does it represent? Is this of value? Why or why not?

The x value is going to represent the “sway” of the mediolateral forces. This would represent the
frontal plane and it would represent eversion/inversion of the foot and also consider the amount of
pronation and supination that occurs too because pronation is a combo of eversion, abduction and
dorsiflexion while supination is a combination of inversion, adduction and plantar flexion. Yes, this is
of value. Pronation decreases the magnitude of GRF because it increases the time that the foot is in
contact with the ground, therefore reduces the impulse.

Conclusion

Formulate your own conclusions regarding the force plate analysis lab. How can force analyses be
used in the area of your expertise or interest?

This type of stuff is awesome to me, so I conclude that it’s good. I say that because it’s practical and
can be applied to many things. For example, I think it would be really interesting to use in a type of
rehab. If you can do some bilateral testing for like a squat you could see if equal amounts of force is
being generated by each side of the body. This could be very useful to detect imbalances in muscles,
neuromotor functions and proprioception. I’d use it for myself with my own squats and
weightlifting. It would be nice to see if I’m generating equal amounts of force or if one side is
dominant and compensating for a weaker side.