Mechanical energy changes during treadmill running.
The purpose of this study was to investigate mechanical energy changes during treadmill running, using two biomechanical models of the human body: the multi-segment model and the center of mass model. Two university distance runners ran at 3.33 and 2.67 m/s on the treadmill, while the right side was filmed by a 16-mm high-speed movie camera (100 fps). The instantaneous mechanical energies of the multi-segment model composed of 11 rigid segments (ME total) and those of the C.M. model (ME C.M.) were calculated for two strides for each trial. The following results were obtained: the trunk segment was the major contributor to the body energy variations, compared to the four limbs; internal kinetic energy, which was the difference between the energy amounts of the two models, was found to have a phase relationship directly opposite to those of the C.M. model. These findings were contrary to the previous studies on walking and were seen to be important characteristics of running energetics.
D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D004734:Energy Metabolism; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology; D008297:Male; D008954:Models, Biological; D005082:Physical Exertion; D012420:Running