Faculty Mentor Information
Dr. Tyler Brown, Boise State University
Additional Funding Sources
This research utilized resources in the Boise State University FaCT Core Facility, RRID: SCR_024733, which receives support from the National Institutes of Health [NIH] under the Institutional Development Awards [IDeA] Program of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences [NIGMS] via grants #P20GM148321 [CEBS COBRE], P20GM103408 [Idaho INBRE], P20GM109095 and P30GM154497 [COBRE in Matrix Biology].
Presentation Date
7-2025
Abstract
Females are more susceptible to tibial stress fractures than males. A sex dimorphism in gait spatiotemporal parameters like changes in cadence, stride length, and stride width during running may increase tibial bone load and females’ injury risk. However, it is currently unclear if running over uneven surfaces impacts gait spatiotemporal parameters and exacerbates a hazardous dimorphism in female gait parameters. Twenty four healthy runners (12 male, 12 female) had gait spatiotemporal parameters quantified when running at 4.5 m/s for flat and uneven surfaces. During trial, cadence, stride length, and stride width were quantified and submitted to analysis. We anticipate females to run with a higher cadence, and shorter and narrower strides to minimize ground impact forces that occur with longer, wider strides and the uneven surface to elicit quicker, shorter, and narrower strides for both sexes. Understanding the impact of surface running gait parameters is important knowledge to alleviate common running related musculoskeletal injury, such as tibial stress fracture.
The Effects of Surface Irregularity and Sex on Spatiotemporal Parameters
Females are more susceptible to tibial stress fractures than males. A sex dimorphism in gait spatiotemporal parameters like changes in cadence, stride length, and stride width during running may increase tibial bone load and females’ injury risk. However, it is currently unclear if running over uneven surfaces impacts gait spatiotemporal parameters and exacerbates a hazardous dimorphism in female gait parameters. Twenty four healthy runners (12 male, 12 female) had gait spatiotemporal parameters quantified when running at 4.5 m/s for flat and uneven surfaces. During trial, cadence, stride length, and stride width were quantified and submitted to analysis. We anticipate females to run with a higher cadence, and shorter and narrower strides to minimize ground impact forces that occur with longer, wider strides and the uneven surface to elicit quicker, shorter, and narrower strides for both sexes. Understanding the impact of surface running gait parameters is important knowledge to alleviate common running related musculoskeletal injury, such as tibial stress fracture.