Abstract:
Running has become more and more popular, with the number of running injuries increasing as quickly as its popularity. Therefore, one basic objective of orthopedics and biomechanics is to reduce the load acting on the musculoskeletal system both for recreational and competitive sports. Besides internal measures, such as applying diverse running techniques, external measures, such as the variation of running shoes, should be taken into consideration. Clinical and biomechanical trials have shown the necessity of discriminating between male and female feet. However, in most studies, data has been acquired from static test series. The validity of transferring the results to a dynamic running process is only inadequately known and will therefore be investigated in this thesis.
The progression of plantar pressure distribution was recorded for 50 subjects; 23 male and 27 female. Acquiring biomechanical variables (center of pressure, maximum force, and time-force integral) was performed both during walking on the pressure distribution platform Emed-SF (Novel, Munich) and within shoes using a Pedar pressure measuring sole (Novel, Munich). The derived biomechanical variables were analyzed with regard to both the whole foot and seven functional-anatomical foot regions. Whereas the analysis of the individual masks and groups of masks of the foot sole indicates an increased pronation movement of runners during the barefoot pressure distribution measurement, the pressure distribution within shoes does not reveal any gender-specific differences.