A comparison of racewalking styles using gait analysis

The goal of this project was to determine whether landing with a straightened or a bent knee during walking generates higher loads in the knee. Seventeen subjects, 11 males and 6 females, were videotaped while racewalking across a force plate. A goniometer was used to measure the flexion angle of the knee; gross muscle activities of the quadriceps and the hamstrings were measured using surface EMG. The measured ground force and accelerations of the tibia and the feet were substituted into a mathematical model to determine the knee contact force. The results indicated that the straight leg landing caused a higher contact force in the knee for novices, while the bent knee style produced a higher ground reaction force. However, experienced racewalkers did not exhibit the increased knee load; proper form kept their vertical accelerations small.