title: The impact of the Spartathlon ultramarathon race on athletes' plantar pressure patterns.
abstract: More than 90% of injuries in runners are recorded in the lower extremity, equally affecting the regions of the knee, shank, and foot. Stress fractures are responsible for numerous running-related injuries. In the current study, the plantar pressure patterns of prerace, immediately postrace, and 24 hours after long-distance running in the Spartathlon were analyzed to compare foot loading in the respective conditions. Forty-six male participants of the Spartathlon ultramarathon were examined before, immediately after completion of the race, and 24 hours later with plantar pressure measurements during barefoot walking on a capacitive platform. The results revealed a significant increase in the peak pressure and impulse values in the forefoot areas and a decrease under the toes before and immediately after the race. On the contrary, no significant differences were found between the prerace and the 24-hour postrace values. The present findings indicate that the Spartathlon race leads to significant variations in foot-loading characteristics, especially in the peak pressure and impulse values under the forefoot and toe regions. Twenty-four-hour postrace data measurements reveal insignificant differences from the prerace statement, probably because of the restoration of local muscular activity.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Functional Anatomy and Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kapodestrian University of Athens, Greece. drkaragounis@yahoo.gr
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Karagounis
authors.forename: Giorgos
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Prionas
authors.forename: Elias
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Armenis
authors.forename: Georgios
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tsiganos
authors.forename: Panagiotis
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Baltopoulos
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena / Q000502:physiology; D005545:Forefoot, Human / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology