Surface effects on in-shoe plantar pressure and tibial impact during running
One page on PainSci cites Fu 2015: Is Running on Pavement Risky?
PainSci commentary on Fu 2015: ?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 paper with surprising results is unusually well-written, with a good introduction reviewing the background. They measured two key impact variables in 13 male recreational runners (all heel-strikers) at 12km/h velocity on concrete, synthetic track, natural grass, a normal treadmill, and a treadmill equipped with a cushioning. Plantar pressures were measured with an in-shoe pressure system, and tibial shock (peak positive acceleration) was measured with an accelerometer at the top of the shin.
Almost no differences were observed in these forces on any of the surfaces! This is contrary to what other experiments have found, and it’s possible that a difference would have emerged here at higher running speeds.
The authors conclude that “these findings indicated that different running surfaces do not necessarily affect the peak plantar impact and, by implication, impact-related injuries in runners.”
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.
PURPOSE: This study aims to explore the effects of running on different surfaces on the characteristics of in-shoe plantar pressure and tibial acceleration.
METHODS: Thirteen male recreational runners were required to run at 12km/h velocity on concrete, synthetic track, natural grass, a normal treadmill, and a treadmill equipped with an ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) cushioning underlay (treadmill_EVA), respectively. An in-shoe plantar pressure system and an accelerometer attached to the tibial tuberosity were used to record and analyze the characteristics of plantar pressure and tibial impact during running.
RESULTS: The results showed that there were no significant differences in the 1st and 2nd peak plantar pressures (time of occurrence), pressure–time integral, and peak pressure distribution for the concrete, synthetic, grass, and normal treadmill surfaces. No significant differences in peak positive acceleration were observed among the five tested surface conditions. Compared to the concrete surface, however, running on treadmill_EVA showed a significant decrease in the 1st peak plantar pressure and the pressure–time integral for the impact phase (p<0.05). These can be further ascribed to a reduced peak pressure observed at heel region (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION: There may not be an inevitable relationship between the surface and the lower-limb impact in runners. It is, however, still noteworthy that the effects of different treadmill surfaces should be considered in the interpretation of plantar pressure performance and translation of such results to overground running.
related content
- “Attenuation of foot pressure during running on four different surfaces: asphalt, concrete, rubber, and natural grass,” Tessutti et al, Journal of Sports Science, 2012.
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:
- Placebo analgesia in physical and psychological interventions: Systematic review and meta-analysis of three-armed trials. Hohenschurz-Schmidt 2024 Eur J Pain.
- Recovery trajectories in common musculoskeletal complaints by diagnosis contra prognostic phenotypes. Aasdahl 2021 BMC Musculoskelet Disord.
- Cannabidiol (CBD) products for pain: ineffective, expensive, and with potential harms. Moore 2023 J Pain.
- Moderators of the effect of therapeutic exercise for knee and hip osteoarthritis: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis. Holden 2023 The Lancet Rheumatology.
- Inciting events associated with lumbar disc herniation. Suri 2010 Spine J.