Long-term effects of rubber and Polyurethane military boots mileage on ground reaction forces and lower limb muscle activities during running

Milad Piran hamlabadi¹ AmirAli Jafarnezhadgero² Kimia Hosseinpour³

1) Phd. student of Sport Managements, Department of Sport Management, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.
2) Associate Professor of Sport Biomechanics, Department of Sport Biomechanics, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.
3) Bachelor of Sports,Department of Sport Biomechanics, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, Ardabil, Iran.

Publication : Four international conferences and six national innovation conferences in sports science(umasport2022.ir)
Abstract :
Abstract Introduction: In the performance of their duties and daily activities, soldiers are required to engage in strenuous physical activity. Essentially, this will include walking and running carrying various items of equipment often through rough terrain. This is especially tough on untrained recruits and involves potential risks of injury Therefore, sports and training-related injury patterns frequently occur during basic military training. In the U.S. Army, 80–90% of the injuries occurred during this period are attributable to training related activities. on the other hand, Running is one of the most important activities for soldiers, and boots play an effective role in this activity. The aim of the present study was to investigate the long-term effects of rubber and Polyurethane military boots mileage on ground reaction forces and lower limb muscle activities during running. Methods: The current research was a clinical trial. 15 healthy male students (20-30 years old) used two different types of used and new boots. Using Bartec force plate with dimensions (60 x 40 cm2), ground reaction forces were measured in vertical (Fz), anterior-posterior (Fy) and medio-lateral (Fx) directions while running at constant speed. Repeated measure ANOVA was used for statistical analysis at a significance level of 0.05. Results: Results demonstrated significant main effects of boots for TTPFXHC (p=0.012, d=0.205). Paired wise comparison revealed significantly greater TTPFXHC. Findings showed significant main effect of time for TTPFXHC (p=0.030, d=0.157), and Impfy (p=0.047, d=0.133). Paired wise comparison revealed significantly lower Impfy activity in the Rubber group than that TPU group. Furthermore, significant boot-by-time interactions were not found for all variables. Conclusion: The results of this research showed that the mileage to reach the peak medio-lateral force was lower in new boots compared to use ones, so that the increase of this value can be related to future injuries. The results of this study show that the type of boots used can be effective in preventing lower limb injuries. Therefore, the use of new operational boots is suggested for the military application.
Keywords : boots polyurethane Rubber ground reaction force running