Download citation:
BibTeX | RIS | EndNote | Medlars | ProCite | Reference Manager | RefWorks
Send citation to:

---

Background: Stress fracture occur following bone exposure to cyclic sub-threshold loadings before repairing previous micro-fractures. The aims of this study were: 1) to assess and compare the ground reaction force and loading rate responses of the fixed-cadence marching at the fourth step and single-leg landing and 2) the effect of over striding in the fourth step of fixed-cadence marching on the ground reaction forces and loading rates. Materials and Methods: a total of ten male students of Police (NAJA) University were enrolled. Five experiments including two single leg landing, two fixed-cadences marching, and regular running experiments were applied. The experiments data were collected with 200 Hertz using a force plate device. Results: The results showed a high correlation between the fixed-cadence marching at the fourth step and single leg landing with both studied step lengths for the peak vertical and posterior components of ground reaction force and loading rate (r = 0.863, r = 0.781, r = 0.847, and r = 0.798 for step length of 25 centimeter, and r=0.865, r=0.74, r=0.831, and r=0.716 for step length of 50 centimeter p <0.05). By increasing the step length, all variables increased significantly (p <0.05). The increase in the amount and rate of ground reaction forces can increase the risk of stress fracture on the lower extremities of soldiers and officers. Conclusion: As a mechanism to prevent over striding and consequently stress fractures in the fixed-cadence marching, it is suggested that recruits with the same height can be arranged to a group during marching, so that their step length maintain around their preferred one.

Keywords: stress fracture, biomechanics, ground reaction force, loading rate, step length, single leg landing

Full-Text [PDF 913 kb]   (2282 Downloads)    

Add your comments about this article : Your username or Email:

---