The location of the tibial accelerometer does influence impact acceleration parameters during running.
Tibial accelerations have been associated with a number of running injuries. However, studies attaching the tibial accelerometer on the proximal section are as numerous as those attaching the accelerometer on the distal section. This study aimed to investigate whether accelerometer location influences acceleration parameters commonly reported in running literature. To fulfil this purpose, 30 athletes ran at 2.22, 2.78 and 3.33 m · s-1with three accelerometers attached with double-sided tape and tightened to the participants' tolerance on the forehead, the proximal section of the tibia and the distal section of the tibia. Time-domain (peak acceleration, shock attenuation) and frequency-domain parameters (peak frequency, peak power, signal magnitude and shock attenuation in both the low and high frequency ranges) were calculated for each of the tibial locations. The distal accelerometer registered greater tibial acceleration peak and shock attenuation compared to the proximal accelerometer. With respect to the frequency-domain analysis, the distal accelerometer provided greater values of all the low-frequency parameters, whereas no difference was observed for the high-frequency parameters. These findings suggest that the location of the tibial accelerometer does influence the acceleration signal parameters, and thus, researchers should carefully consider the location they choose to place the accelerometer so that equivalent comparisons across studies can be made.
a GIBD, Department of Physical Education and Sports , University of Valencia , Valencia , Spain.
Angel Gabriel
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8646-9114
AG
Lucas-Cuevas
b Faculty of Physical Activity and Sports Sciences , Catholic University of Murcia , Murcia , Spain.
Alberto
A
Encarnación-Martínez
c Grupo de Comunicaciones Aplicadas a Redes Telemáticas, Departamento de Comunicaciones , Universitat Politècnica de València , Alcoy , Spain.
Andrés
http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8542-4264
A
Camacho-García
a GIBD, Department of Physical Education and Sports , University of Valencia , Valencia , Spain.
Salvador
S
Llana-Belloch
a GIBD, Department of Physical Education and Sports , University of Valencia , Valencia , Spain.
Pedro
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9825-3801
P
Pérez-Soriano
D000054:Acceleration; D061725:Accelerometry / Q000379:methods*; D000328:Adult; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D006801:Humans; D007866:Leg / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D012420:Running / Q000502:physiology*; D013977:Tibia
Tibial acceleration; accelerometry; deceleration; frequency analysis; shock attenuation