This study proposes a system to support the establishment of midfoot strike (MFS), a foot strike pattern where the heel and forefoot contact the ground simultaneously. While MFS is considered to reduce injury risk and improve running performance, it is difficult to acquire and maintain consistently. To promote MFS acquisition, runners must become aware of their ground contact balance and the distribution of plantar pressure during running. The proposed system enhances this awareness by providing intermittent visual feedback, which consists of insoles with pressure sensors placed at the heel and the ball of the foot and an LED mounted on the brim of a cap. When pressure values exceed a threshold, the LED lights up in red (heel) or blue (ball of the foot). Rather than delivering constant feedback, the system provides feedback at fixed intervals, encouraging users to estimate their foot strike internally and later verify its accuracy. This cycle of estimation and correction helps runners gradually learn to identify and correct deviations from MFS on their own. Even after the system is removed, users are expected to have learned to maintain MFS independently. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the system’s effectiveness. The results showed that participants who used the system could detect and correct deviations from MFS earlier than those who did not. This suggests that the intermittent feedback is effective for supporting the acquisition and retention of MFS during running.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

System to Support Acquiring Midfoot Strike Running through Intermittent Feedback of Foot Pressure Balance

  • Ryo Nakamura,
  • Ayumi Ohnishi,
  • Tsutomu Terada,
  • Masahiko Tsukamoto

摘要

This study proposes a system to support the establishment of midfoot strike (MFS), a foot strike pattern where the heel and forefoot contact the ground simultaneously. While MFS is considered to reduce injury risk and improve running performance, it is difficult to acquire and maintain consistently. To promote MFS acquisition, runners must become aware of their ground contact balance and the distribution of plantar pressure during running. The proposed system enhances this awareness by providing intermittent visual feedback, which consists of insoles with pressure sensors placed at the heel and the ball of the foot and an LED mounted on the brim of a cap. When pressure values exceed a threshold, the LED lights up in red (heel) or blue (ball of the foot). Rather than delivering constant feedback, the system provides feedback at fixed intervals, encouraging users to estimate their foot strike internally and later verify its accuracy. This cycle of estimation and correction helps runners gradually learn to identify and correct deviations from MFS on their own. Even after the system is removed, users are expected to have learned to maintain MFS independently. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the system’s effectiveness. The results showed that participants who used the system could detect and correct deviations from MFS earlier than those who did not. This suggests that the intermittent feedback is effective for supporting the acquisition and retention of MFS during running.