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

Abstract

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 MSDmodel’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.