Validity and reliability of peak tibial accelerations as real-time measure of impact loading

Understanding the forces acting on the body during running is key to managing training load and preventing injury. This paper demonstrates that peak tibial accelerations (PTA) can be measured reliably and validly in real-world running, providing a practical proxy for impact loading when force plates aren’t available.

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Validity and reliability of peak tibial accelerations as real-time measure of impact loading during over-ground rearfoot running at different speeds

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Studies seeking to determine the effects of gait retraining through biofeedback on peak tibial acceleration (PTA) assume that this biometric trait is a valid measure of impact loading that is reliable both within and between sessions. However, reliability and validity data were lacking for axial and resultant PTAs along the speed range of over-ground endurance running. A wearable system was developed to continuously measure 3D tibial acceleration and to detect PTAs in real-time.