Ground Reaction Force Response during Running on Different Surface Hardness

Adaptation of kinetics response when running on different surface has been commonly measured by the ground reaction force (GRF). GRF was extensively been used in studies related to surface characteristics such irregularity, incline and types. Since surface hardness effects on the ground reaction force response and the foot adaption is remain unclear, the present study was carried out to address this issue. Ten subjects among university students population was selected to perform running on three different surface hardness which is concrete, artificial grass and rubber, with three shod conditions (barefoot, minimally shoe and heeled shoe) in recreational mode. The GRF data of each trial was obtained using force plate and the stance time of running phase was recorded using motion tracking system. In barefoot running, the GRF and stance time were found decreased with increasing of surface hardness. However, the GRF and stance time were not in correlation with the surface hardness for running with minimally shoe and heeled shoe. The results showed surface types and shod conditions contributed to the foot adaptation particularly in viewpoint of GRF response and stance time of running phase.