title: Measurement of shock acceleration during walking and running using the Shock Meter.
abstract: The Shock Meter was developed to measure shock acceleration of the lower leg during running or walking and is suitable for use in the clinical or sports environment. This instrument measures the shock factor, previously defined by the author, on a 0 to 10 scale to allow for the comparison of different footwear and gait. A study was carried out to determine the repeatability and accuracy of the Shock Meter during both walking and treadmill running. It was shown that this instrument can discriminate changes in shock factor of 10% (P < 0·05). As might be expected, shoes with hard heels were found to cause the greatest shock acceleration. In a study of three runners, there appeared to be trend for the shock factor to increase with speed only up to some transition speed. It is suggested that this transition is associated with the change from heel strike to mid or forefoot contact. Further studies are required to understand this more fully.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mechanical, Materials and Manufacturing Engineering, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, UK.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Johnson