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The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model.

ABSTRACT: Background:Monitoring the external ground reaction forces (GRF) acting on the human body during running could help to understand how external loads influence tissue adaptation over time. Although mass-spring-damper (MSD) models have the potential to simulate the complex multi-segmental mechanics of the human body and predict GRF, these models currently require input from measured GRF limiting their application in field settings. Based on the hypothesis that the acceleration of the MSD-model's upper mass primarily represents the acceleration of the trunk segment, this paper explored the feasibility of using measured trunk accelerometry to estimate the MSD-model parameters required to predict resultant GRF during running. Methods:Twenty male athletes ran at approach speeds between 2-5 m s-1. Resultant trunk accelerometry was used as a surrogate of the MSD-model upper mass acceleration to estimate the MSD-model parameters (ACCparam) required to predict resultant GRF. A purpose-built gradient descent optimisation routine was used where the MSD-model's upper mass acceleration was fitted to the measured trunk accelerometer signal. Root mean squared errors (RMSE) were calculated to evaluate the accuracy of the trunk accelerometry fitting and GRF predictions. In addition, MSD-model parameters were estimated from fitting measured resultant GRF (GRFparam), to explore the difference between ACCparam and GRFparam. Results:Despite a good match between the measured trunk accelerometry and the MSD-model's upper mass acceleration (median RMSE between 0.16 and 0.22 g), poor GRF predictions (median RMSE between 6.68 and 12.77 N kg-1) were observed. In contrast, the MSD-model was able to replicate the measured GRF with high accuracy (median RMSE between 0.45 and 0.59 N kg-1) across running speeds from GRFparam. The ACCparam from measured trunk accelerometry under- or overestimated the GRFparam obtained from measured GRF, and generally demonstrated larger within parameter variations. Discussion:Despite the potential of obtaining a close fit between the MSD-model's upper mass acceleration and the measured trunk accelerometry, the ACCparam estimated from this process were inadequate to predict resultant GRF waveforms during slow to moderate speed running. We therefore conclude that trunk-mounted accelerometry alone is inappropriate as input for the MSD-model to predict meaningful GRF waveforms. Further investigations are needed to continue to explore the feasibility of using body-worn micro sensor technology to drive simple human body models that would allow practitioners and researchers to estimate and monitor GRF waveforms in field settings.

SUBMITTER: Nedergaard NJ

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6304261 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model.

Nedergaard Niels J NJ Verheul Jasper J Drust Barry B Etchells Terence T Lisboa Paulo P Robinson Mark A MA Vanrenterghem Jos J

PeerJ 20181220

<h4>Background</h4>Monitoring the external ground reaction forces (GRF) acting on the human body during running could help to understand how external loads influence tissue adaptation over time. Although mass-spring-damper (MSD) models have the potential to simulate the complex multi-segmental mechanics of the human body and predict GRF, these models currently require input from measured GRF limiting their application in field settings. Based on the hypothesis that the acceleration of the MSD-mo ...[more]

PMID: 30595981

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Project description:BACKGROUND:Sand is an easy-to-access, cost-free resource that can be used to treat pronated feet (PF). Therefore, the aims of this study were to contrast the effects of walking on stable ground versus walking on sand on ground reaction forces (GRFs) and electromyographic (EMG) activity of selected lower limb muscles in PF individuals compared with healthy controls. METHODS:Twenty-nine controls aged 22.2±2.5 years and 30 PF individuals aged 22.2±1.9 years were enrolled in this study. Participants walked at preferred speed and in randomized order over level ground and sand. A force plate was included in the walkway to collect GRFs. Muscle activities were recorded using EMG system. RESULTS:No statistically significant between-group differences were found in preferred walking speed when walking on stable ground (PF: 1.33±0.12 m/s; controls: 1.35±0.14 m/s; p = 0.575; d = 0.15) and sand (PF: 1.19±0.11 m/s; controls: 1.23±0.18 m/s; p = 0.416; d = 0.27). Irrespective of the group, walking on sand (1.21±0.15 m/s) resulted in significantly lower gait speed compared with stable ground walking (1.34±0.13 m/s) (p<0.001; d = 0.93). Significant main effects of "surface" were found for peak posterior GRFs at heel contact, time to peak for peak lateral GRFs at heel contact, and peak anterior GRFs during push-off (p<0.044; d = 0.27-0.94). Pair-wise comparisons revealed significantly smaller peak posterior GRFs at heel contact (p = 0.005; d = 1.17), smaller peak anterior GRFs during push-off (p = 0.001; d = 1.14), and time to peak for peak lateral GRFs (p = 0.044; d = 0.28) when walking on sand. No significant main effects of "group" were observed for peak GRFs and their time to peak (p>0.05; d = 0.06-1.60). We could not find any significant group by surface interactions for peak GRFs and their time to peak. Significant main effects of "surface" were detected for anterior-posterior impulse and peak positive free moment amplitude (p<0.048; d = 0.54-0.71). Pair-wise comparisons revealed a significantly larger peak positive free moment amplitude (p = 0.010; d = 0.71) and a lower anterior-posterior impulse (p = 0.048; d = 0.38) when walking on sand. We observed significant main effects of "group" for the variable loading rate (p<0.030; d = 0.59). Pair-wise comparisons revealed significantly lower loading rates in PF compared with controls (p = 0.030; d = 0.61). Significant group by surface interactions were observed for the parameter peak positive free moment amplitude (p<0.030; d = 0.59). PF individuals exhibited a significantly lower peak positive free moment amplitude (p = 0.030, d = 0.41) when walking on sand. With regards to EMG, no significant main effects of "surface", main effects of "group", and group by surface interactions were observed for the recorded muscles during the loading and push-off phases (p>0.05; d = 0.00-0.53). CONCLUSIONS:The observed lower velocities during walking on sand compared with stable ground were accompanied by lower peak positive free moments during the push-off phase and loading rates during the loading phase. Our findings of similar lower limb muscle activities during walking on sand compared with stable ground in PF together with lower free moment amplitudes, vertical loading rates, and lower walking velocities on sand may indicate more relative muscle activity on sand compared with stable ground. This needs to be verified in future studies.

Dataset Information

The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model.

Publications

The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model.

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