Baseline measures are altered in biomechanical studies.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine if baseline measures are altered between conditions in biomechanical studies and to determine the need for baseline measurements in biomechanics. Ten runners were asked to run at varying speeds and obstacle heights. Baseline measures were acquired between all conditions. Right lower extremity kinematic and kinetic data were collected for all baseline trials and evaluated by both a group and a single subject analysis. The group analysis revealed significant differences between baselines only for the obstacle perturbation. The single subject analysis indicated that baseline measures are altered in a greater degree for kinematics than kinetics. These findings suggested that baseline measures are altered between conditions in biomechanical studies, and they should be used when a repeated measures or a single subject experimental design is being utilized.