Relationships between Habitual Cadence, Footstrike, and Vertical Loadrates in Runners

Excessive vertical ground reaction force (VGRF) loadrates have been linked with running injuries. Increasing cadence (CAD) has been shown to reduce loadrates; however relationships between habitual cadence and loadrates across a population of runners have not been examined. Purpose To examine the relationships between habitual running cadence and vertical loadrates in healthy and injured runners using habitual footstrike patterns. As CAD increased, we expected vertical loadrates would decrease. Methods Healthy runners (n=32, 25 male) and injured runners (n=93, 45 male) seeking treatment were analyzed. Footstrike classifications were heel at initial contact (RFS) or forefoot at initial contact (FFS). Runners were divided into 4 injury-status/footstrike pattern (FSP) subgroups: healthy-RFS (n=19), injured-RFS (n=70), healthy-FFS (n=13), and injured-FFS (n=23). VGRF and CAD were recorded as participants ran on an instrumented treadmill at self-selected speed (x =2.6m/s ±0.12). Healthy runners used lab footwear similar to their habitual footwear and injured runners used habitual footwear. The vertical average and instantaneous loadrates (VALR, VILR) of the VGRF of each runner's right leg were calculated and correlated with CAD for 4 injury status-FSP subgroups and for all runners combined. Results There were no differences in CAD between all runners or any subgroup (p>0.05). VALR and VILR were significantly higher (p

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