The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model

Background Monitoring the external ground reaction forces (GRF) acting on the human body during running could help to understand how external loads influence tissue adaptation over time. Although mass-spring-damper (MSD) models have the potential to simulate the complex multi-segmental mechanics of...

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Main Authors: Niels J. Nedergaard, Jasper Verheul, Barry Drust, Terence Etchells, Paulo Lisboa, Mark A. Robinson, Jos Vanrenterghem
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: PeerJ Inc. 2018-12-01
Series:PeerJ
Subjects:
Online Access:https://peerj.com/articles/6105.pdf
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author Niels J. Nedergaard
Jasper Verheul
Barry Drust
Terence Etchells
Paulo Lisboa
Mark A. Robinson
Jos Vanrenterghem
author_facet Niels J. Nedergaard
Jasper Verheul
Barry Drust
Terence Etchells
Paulo Lisboa
Mark A. Robinson
Jos Vanrenterghem
author_sort Niels J. Nedergaard
collection DOAJ
description Background Monitoring the external ground reaction forces (GRF) acting on the human body during running could help to understand how external loads influence tissue adaptation over time. Although mass-spring-damper (MSD) models have the potential to simulate the complex multi-segmental mechanics of the human body and predict GRF, these models currently require input from measured GRF limiting their application in field settings. Based on the hypothesis that the acceleration of the MSD-model’s upper mass primarily represents the acceleration of the trunk segment, this paper explored the feasibility of using measured trunk accelerometry to estimate the MSD-model parameters required to predict resultant GRF during running. Methods Twenty male athletes ran at approach speeds between 2–5 m s−1. Resultant trunk accelerometry was used as a surrogate of the MSD-model upper mass acceleration to estimate the MSD-model parameters (ACCparam) required to predict resultant GRF. A purpose-built gradient descent optimisation routine was used where the MSD-model’s upper mass acceleration was fitted to the measured trunk accelerometer signal. Root mean squared errors (RMSE) were calculated to evaluate the accuracy of the trunk accelerometry fitting and GRF predictions. In addition, MSD-model parameters were estimated from fitting measured resultant GRF (GRFparam), to explore the difference between ACCparam and GRFparam. Results Despite a good match between the measured trunk accelerometry and the MSD-model’s upper mass acceleration (median RMSE between 0.16 and 0.22 g), poor GRF predictions (median RMSE between 6.68 and 12.77 N kg−1) were observed. In contrast, the MSD-model was able to replicate the measured GRF with high accuracy (median RMSE between 0.45 and 0.59 N kg−1) across running speeds from GRFparam. The ACCparam from measured trunk accelerometry under- or overestimated the GRFparam obtained from measured GRF, and generally demonstrated larger within parameter variations. Discussion Despite the potential of obtaining a close fit between the MSD-model’s upper mass acceleration and the measured trunk accelerometry, the ACCparam estimated from this process were inadequate to predict resultant GRF waveforms during slow to moderate speed running. We therefore conclude that trunk-mounted accelerometry alone is inappropriate as input for the MSD-model to predict meaningful GRF waveforms. Further investigations are needed to continue to explore the feasibility of using body-worn micro sensor technology to drive simple human body models that would allow practitioners and researchers to estimate and monitor GRF waveforms in field settings.
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spelling doaj.art-3f12d1cf56fa415d98fd486ef567bce62023-12-03T10:22:38ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592018-12-016e610510.7717/peerj.6105The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper modelNiels J. Nedergaard0Jasper Verheul1Barry Drust2Terence Etchells3Paulo Lisboa4Mark A. Robinson5Jos Vanrenterghem6Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United KingdomResearch Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United KingdomResearch Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United KingdomDepartment of Applied Mathematics, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United KingdomDepartment of Applied Mathematics, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United KingdomResearch Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United KingdomResearch Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, United KingdomBackground Monitoring the external ground reaction forces (GRF) acting on the human body during running could help to understand how external loads influence tissue adaptation over time. Although mass-spring-damper (MSD) models have the potential to simulate the complex multi-segmental mechanics of the human body and predict GRF, these models currently require input from measured GRF limiting their application in field settings. Based on the hypothesis that the acceleration of the MSD-model’s upper mass primarily represents the acceleration of the trunk segment, this paper explored the feasibility of using measured trunk accelerometry to estimate the MSD-model parameters required to predict resultant GRF during running. Methods Twenty male athletes ran at approach speeds between 2–5 m s−1. Resultant trunk accelerometry was used as a surrogate of the MSD-model upper mass acceleration to estimate the MSD-model parameters (ACCparam) required to predict resultant GRF. A purpose-built gradient descent optimisation routine was used where the MSD-model’s upper mass acceleration was fitted to the measured trunk accelerometer signal. Root mean squared errors (RMSE) were calculated to evaluate the accuracy of the trunk accelerometry fitting and GRF predictions. In addition, MSD-model parameters were estimated from fitting measured resultant GRF (GRFparam), to explore the difference between ACCparam and GRFparam. Results Despite a good match between the measured trunk accelerometry and the MSD-model’s upper mass acceleration (median RMSE between 0.16 and 0.22 g), poor GRF predictions (median RMSE between 6.68 and 12.77 N kg−1) were observed. In contrast, the MSD-model was able to replicate the measured GRF with high accuracy (median RMSE between 0.45 and 0.59 N kg−1) across running speeds from GRFparam. The ACCparam from measured trunk accelerometry under- or overestimated the GRFparam obtained from measured GRF, and generally demonstrated larger within parameter variations. Discussion Despite the potential of obtaining a close fit between the MSD-model’s upper mass acceleration and the measured trunk accelerometry, the ACCparam estimated from this process were inadequate to predict resultant GRF waveforms during slow to moderate speed running. We therefore conclude that trunk-mounted accelerometry alone is inappropriate as input for the MSD-model to predict meaningful GRF waveforms. Further investigations are needed to continue to explore the feasibility of using body-worn micro sensor technology to drive simple human body models that would allow practitioners and researchers to estimate and monitor GRF waveforms in field settings.https://peerj.com/articles/6105.pdfBiomechanical loadingTraining load monitoringTissue adaptationsBody-worn accelerometerMass-spring modelOptimisation
spellingShingle Niels J. Nedergaard
Jasper Verheul
Barry Drust
Terence Etchells
Paulo Lisboa
Mark A. Robinson
Jos Vanrenterghem
The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model
PeerJ
Biomechanical loading
Training load monitoring
Tissue adaptations
Body-worn accelerometer
Mass-spring model
Optimisation
title The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model
title_full The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model
title_fullStr The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model
title_full_unstemmed The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model
title_short The feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass-spring-damper model
title_sort feasibility of predicting ground reaction forces during running from a trunk accelerometry driven mass spring damper model
topic Biomechanical loading
Training load monitoring
Tissue adaptations
Body-worn accelerometer
Mass-spring model
Optimisation
url https://peerj.com/articles/6105.pdf
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