An Acute Transition from Rearfoot to Forefoot Strike does not Induce Major Changes in Plantarflexor Muscles Activation for Habitual Rearfoot Strike Runners.

Footstrike pattern has received increased attention within the running community because there is a common belief that forefoot strike running (FFS) is more advantageous (i.e., improve performance and reduce running injuries) than rearfoot strike running (RFS) in distance running. Literature reports suggest greater knee joint flexion magnitude and initial knee angle during stance in FFS compared with RFS running We examined the EMG activation of the triceps surae muscles during an acute transition from RFS to FFS strike. We tested the hypothesis that due to larger knee flexion in FFS the gastrocnemius muscles possibly decrease their EMG activity because muscle fascicles operate under unfavorable conditions. Fourteen competitive healthy middle- and long-distance runners who were habitual RFS runners ran on a treadmill at three speeds: 12, 14, and 16 km·h-1. Each running speed was performed with both FFS and RFS patterns. Lower limb kinematics in the sagittal plane and normalized electromyography (EMG) activity of medial gastrocnemius proximal, middle and distal regions, lateral gastrocnemius and soleus muscles were compared between footstrike patterns and running speeds across the stride cycle. Contrary to our expectations, the knee joint range of motion was similar in FFS and RFS running. However, the sagittal plane ankle joint motion was greater (p < 0.01) while running with FFS, resulting in a significantly greater muscle-tendon unit lengthening (p < 0.01) in FFS compared with RFS running. In addition, medial and lateral gastrocnemius showed higher EMG activity in FFS compared with RFS running in the late swing and early stance but only for a small percentage of the stride cycle. However, strike patterns and running speed failed to induce region-specific activation differences within the medial gastrocnemius muscle. Overall, well-trained RFS runners are able to change to FFS running by altering only the ankle joint kinematics without remarkably changing the EMG activity pattern.

Lower leg muscle-tendon unit characteristics are related to marathon running performance.

The human ankle joint and plantar flexor muscle-tendon unit play an important role in endurance running. It has been assumed that muscle and tendon interactions and their biomechanical behaviours depend on their morphological and architectural characteristics. We aimed to study how plantar flexor muscle characteristics influence marathon running performance and to determine whether there is any difference in the role of the soleus and gastrocnemii. The right lower leg of ten male distance runners was scanned with magnetic resonance imagining. The cross-sectional areas of the Achilles tendon, soleus, and lateral and medial gastrocnemius were measured, and the muscle volumes were calculated. Additional ultrasound scanning was used to estimate the fascicle length of each muscle to calculate the physiological cross-sectional area. Correlations were found between marathon running performance and soleus volume (r = 0.55, p = 0.048), soleus cross-sectional area (r = 0.57, p = 0.04), soleus physiological cross-sectional area (PCSA-IAAF r = 0.77, p < 0.01, CI± 0.28 to 0.94), Achilles tendon thickness (r = 0.65, p < 0.01), and soleus muscle-to-tendon ratio (r = 0.68, p = 0.03). None of the gastrocnemius characteristics were associated with marathon performance. We concluded that a larger soleus muscle with a thicker Achilles tendon is associated with better marathon performance. Based on these results, it can be concluded the morphological characteristics of the lower leg muscle-tendon unit correlate with running performance.