Muscular strategy shift in human running: dependence of running speed on hip and ankle muscle performance
One page on PainSci cites Dorn 2012: Psoas, So What?
PainSci commentary on Dorn 2012: ?This page is one of thousands in the PainScience.com bibliography. It is not a general article: it is focused on a single scientific paper, and it may provide only just enough context for the summary to make sense. Links to other papers and more general information are provided wherever possible.
This study adds to a large body of evidence about the biomechanics of running with some details about “the synergistic actions of the individual leg muscles over a wide range of running speeds, from slow running to maximal sprinting.” They analyzed gait in nine runners, identifying a change in acceleration strategy from boosting stride length at slower speeds, to higher frequency at higher speeds. The lower speed strategy mostly uses the lower legs: ankle plantarflexors, soleus and gastrocnemius. The higher speed strategy recruits the iliopsoas, gluteus maximus and hamstrings, which achieve a sprint by “accelerating the hip and knee joints more vigorously during swing.”
Visual summary of some of the findings of Dorn et al. by @Fred_Duncan [Instagram],
original abstract †Abstracts here may not perfectly match originals, for a variety of technical and practical reasons. Some abstacts are truncated for my purposes here, if they are particularly long-winded and unhelpful. I occasionally add clarifying notes. And I make some minor corrections.
Humans run faster by increasing a combination of stride length and stride frequency. In slow and medium-paced running, stride length is increased by exerting larger support forces during ground contact, whereas in fast running and sprinting, stride frequency is increased by swinging the legs more rapidly through the air. Many studies have investigated the mechanics of human running, yet little is known about how the individual leg muscles accelerate the joints and centre of mass during this task. The aim of this study was to describe and explain the synergistic actions of the individual leg muscles over a wide range of running speeds, from slow running to maximal sprinting. Experimental gait data from nine subjects were combined with a detailed computer model of the musculoskeletal system to determine the forces developed by the leg muscles at different running speeds. For speeds up to 7 m s(-1), the ankle plantarflexors, soleus and gastrocnemius, contributed most significantly to vertical support forces and hence increases in stride length. At speeds greater than 7 m s(-1), these muscles shortened at relatively high velocities and had less time to generate the forces needed for support. Thus, above 7 m s(-1), the strategy used to increase running speed shifted to the goal of increasing stride frequency. The hip muscles, primarily the iliopsoas, gluteus maximus and hamstrings, achieved this goal by accelerating the hip and knee joints more vigorously during swing. These findings provide insight into the strategies used by the leg muscles to maximise running performance and have implications for the design of athletic training programs.
This page is part of the PainScience BIBLIOGRAPHY, which contains plain language summaries of thousands of scientific papers & others sources. It’s like a highly specialized blog. A few highlights:
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