Felipe García-Pinillos1, Pedro Á Latorre-Román2, Rodrigo Ramírez-Campillo3, Juan A Párraga-Montilla4, Luis E Roche-Seruendo5. 1. Department of Physical Education, Sports and Recreation. Universidad de La Frontera, Temuco, Chile. Electronic address: fegarpi@gmail.com. 2. University of Jaen, Department of Corporal Expression, Campus de Las Lagunillas s/n. D2 Building, Dep. 142, 23071, Jaen, Spain. Electronic address: platorre@ujaen.es. 3. Universidad de Los Lagos, Department of Physical Activity Sciences, Quality of Life and Wellness Research Group, Laboratory of Human Performance, Osorno, Chile. Electronic address: r.ramirez@ulagos.cl. 4. University of Jaen, Department of Corporal Expression, Campus de Las Lagunillas s/n. D2 Building, Dep. 142, 23071, Jaen, Spain. Electronic address: jparraga@ujaen.es. 5. Universidad San Jorge, Campus Universitario, A23 km 299, 50830. Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: leroche@usj.es.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The current evidence leaves certain questions unanswered, including whether well-trained athletes adapt to different slope gradients in the same way as amateurs, and whether stiffness influences spatiotemporal adaptations during uphill running. RESEARCH QUESTION: This study aimed to determine the effect of different slope gradients (0%-11%) on spatiotemporal gait characteristics during running, taking into account the influence of athletic level, vertical and leg stiffness. METHODS: Male endurance runners (12 amateurs, 10 highly-trained) performed a running test on a motorized treadmill. The running velocity was set at 12 km/h, and participants completed six different running conditions (0, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11% gradients). Spatiotemporal parameters were measured using the OptoGait system. Vertical (Kvert) and leg (Kleg) stiffness were calculated according to the sine-wave method. RESULTS: A 2 (amateur; highly-trained) × 6 (running conditions) ANOVA found no significant between-group differences in spatiotemporal parameters at any gradient (P ≥ 0.05); however, significant Kvert and Kleg differences (P < 0.05) were found within both groups with increasing gradients. Stepwise linear regression analysis showed that Kleg was strongly associated with contact time (R2 = 0.797, P < 0.001), whereas Kvert was associated with spatiotemporal adaptations to different slope gradients (R2 = 0.547, P = 0.002). SIGNIFICANCE: An increased slope gradient (0-11%) at a given running velocity (12 km.h-1) caused spatiotemporal adaptations (i.e., increased CT and SF and decreased FT, SL and SA) regardless of the athletic level of the runner, although a non-significant trend differentiated the adaptations between the amateur and highly-trained groups. The results also indicated that leg stiffness plays a key role in the characteristics of spatiotemporal gait during level running, whereas vertical stiffness is strongly associated with spatiotemporal adaptations when running uphill.
BACKGROUND: The current evidence leaves certain questions unanswered, including whether well-trained athletes adapt to different slope gradients in the same way as amateurs, and whether stiffness influences spatiotemporal adaptations during uphill running. RESEARCH QUESTION: This study aimed to determine the effect of different slope gradients (0%-11%) on spatiotemporal gait characteristics during running, taking into account the influence of athletic level, vertical and leg stiffness. METHODS: Male endurance runners (12 amateurs, 10 highly-trained) performed a running test on a motorized treadmill. The running velocity was set at 12 km/h, and participants completed six different running conditions (0, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11% gradients). Spatiotemporal parameters were measured using the OptoGait system. Vertical (Kvert) and leg (Kleg) stiffness were calculated according to the sine-wave method. RESULTS: A 2 (amateur; highly-trained) × 6 (running conditions) ANOVA found no significant between-group differences in spatiotemporal parameters at any gradient (P ≥ 0.05); however, significant Kvert and Kleg differences (P < 0.05) were found within both groups with increasing gradients. Stepwise linear regression analysis showed that Kleg was strongly associated with contact time (R2 = 0.797, P < 0.001), whereas Kvert was associated with spatiotemporal adaptations to different slope gradients (R2 = 0.547, P = 0.002). SIGNIFICANCE: An increased slope gradient (0-11%) at a given running velocity (12 km.h-1) caused spatiotemporal adaptations (i.e., increased CT and SF and decreased FT, SL and SA) regardless of the athletic level of the runner, although a non-significant trend differentiated the adaptations between the amateur and highly-trained groups. The results also indicated that leg stiffness plays a key role in the characteristics of spatiotemporal gait during level running, whereas vertical stiffness is strongly associated with spatiotemporal adaptations when running uphill.
Authors: Felipe García-Pinillos; Daniel Jerez-Mayorga; Pedro Á Latorre-Román; Rodrigo Ramirez-Campillo; Fernando Sanz-López; Luis E Roche-Seruendo Journal: J Hum Kinet Date: 2020-03-31 Impact factor: 2.193