A new method for measuring treadmill belt velocity fluctuations: effects of treadmill type, body mass and locomotion speed.

ABSTRACT: Treadmills are essential to the study of human and animal locomotion as well as for applied diagnostics in both sports and medicine. The quantification of relevant biomechanical and physiological variables requires a precise regulation of treadmill belt velocity (TBV). Here, we present a novel method for time-efficient tracking of TBV using standard 3D motion capture technology. Further, we analyzed TBV fluctuations of four different treadmills as seven participants walked and ran at target speeds ranging from 1.0 to 4.5 m/s. Using the novel method, we show that TBV regulation differs between treadmill types, and that certain features of TBV regulation are affected by the subjects' body mass and their locomotion speed. With higher body mass, the TBV reductions in the braking phase of stanc

SUBMITTER: Willwacher S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7838258 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature