Hominid Paleobiology Doctoral Program, The George Washington University, Washington, DC, USA.
PLoS One. 2013;8(1):e52548. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0052548. Epub 2013 Jan 9.
Endurance running may have a long evolutionary history in the hominin clade but it was not until very recently that humans ran wearing shoes. Research on modern habitually unshod runners has suggested that they utilize a different biomechanical strategy than runners who wear shoes, namely that barefoot runners typically use a forefoot strike in order to avoid generating the high impact forces that would be experienced if they were to strike the ground with their heels first. This finding suggests that our habitually unshod ancestors may have run in a similar way. However, this research was conducted on a single population and we know little about variation in running form among habitually barefoot people, including the effects of running speed, which has been shown to affect strike patterns in shod runners. Here, we present the results of our investigation into the selection of running foot strike patterns among another modern habitually unshod group, the Daasanach of northern Kenya. Data were collected from 38 consenting adults as they ran along a trackway with a plantar pressure pad placed midway along its length. Subjects ran at self-selected endurance running and sprinting speeds. Our data support the hypothesis that a forefoot strike reduces the magnitude of impact loading, but the majority of subjects instead used a rearfoot strike at endurance running speeds. Their percentages of midfoot and forefoot strikes increased significantly with speed. These results indicate that not all habitually barefoot people prefer running with a forefoot strike, and suggest that other factors such as running speed, training level, substrate mechanical properties, running distance, and running frequency, influence the selection of foot strike patterns.
耐力跑在人科动物中可能有着悠久的进化历史,但直到最近,人类才开始穿鞋跑步。对现代习惯性赤脚跑步者的研究表明,他们采用了不同于穿鞋跑步者的生物力学策略,即赤脚跑步者通常采用前脚掌着地的方式,以避免产生如果他们先用脚跟着地会产生的高冲击力。这一发现表明,我们习惯性赤脚的祖先可能以类似的方式跑步。然而,这项研究是在单一人群中进行的,我们对习惯性赤脚人群的跑步方式的变化知之甚少,包括跑步速度的影响,研究表明,跑步速度会影响穿鞋跑步者的着地方式。在这里,我们介绍了我们对肯尼亚北部达萨纳赫另一个现代习惯性赤脚人群的跑步着地方式选择的研究结果。在一个有足底压力垫的跑道上,38 名同意的成年人自愿跑步,数据被收集起来。受试者以自我选择的耐力跑和冲刺速度跑步。我们的数据支持这样一种假设,即前脚掌着地可以减少冲击负荷的大小,但大多数受试者在耐力跑速度下仍然采用后脚掌着地。随着速度的增加,他们的中足和前脚掌着地的比例显著增加。这些结果表明,并非所有习惯性赤脚的人都喜欢前脚掌着地,这表明其他因素,如跑步速度、训练水平、基底力学特性、跑步距离和跑步频率,都会影响着地方式的选择。