Table 1.
Pooled effects of the foot strike techniques on ground-reaction force and biomechanical joint variables
| Variables | No. of Related Studies | SMD (95% CI) a | P |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ground-reaction force variables | |||
| Peak impact force | 2 | −1.84 (–2.29, –1.38) | <0.001* |
| Average impact force loading rate | 5 | −2.1 (–3.18, –1.01) | <0.001* |
| Peak impact force loading rate | 4 | −1.77 (–2.21, –1.33) | <0.001* |
| Peak VGRF | 5 | 0.84 (0.52, 1.15) | <0.001* |
| Biomechanical joint variables | |||
| Ankle angle at IC | 6 | −4.16 (–4.83, –3.49) | <0.001* |
| Peak ankle dorsiflexion angle | 4 | −0.83 (–1.14, –0.52) | <0.001* |
| Ankle excursion on sagittal plane | 4 | 1.41 (0.29, 2.54) | 0.01* |
| Knee flexion angle at IC | 5 | 0.23 (–0.79, 1.25) | 0.66 |
| Peak knee flexion angle | 5 | −0.24 (–0.52, 0.03) | 0.09 |
| Knee flexion excursion | 7 | −0.78 (–1.09, –0.47) | <0.001* |
| Hip flexion angle at IC | 3 | 0 (–0.35, 0.35) | 0.99 |
| Peak hip flexion angle | 3 | −0.15 (–0.48, 0.17) | 0.35 |
| Peak hip adduction angle | 4 | −0.19 (–0.45, 0.07) | 0.14 |
| Hip flexion excursion | 2 | −0.55 (–1.09, –0.02) | 0.04* |
| Peak ankle plantarflexion moment | 6 | 1.31 (0.66, 1.96) | <0.001* |
| Peak ankle eccentric power | 3 | 1.63 (1.18, 2.08) | <0.001* |
| Peak ankle negative work | 2 | 2.60 (1.02, 4.18) | 0.001* |
| Peak ankle axial contact force | 3 | 1.26 (0.93, 1.6) | <0.001* |
| Peak ankle stiffness | 2 | −1.69 (–2.46, –0.92) | <0.001* |
| Peak knee extension moment | 5 | −0.64 (–0.98, –0.3) | <0.001* |
| Peak knee eccentric power | 3 | −2.03 (–2.51, –1.54) | <0.001* |
| Peak knee negative work | 2 | −1.56 (–2.11, –1.0) | <0.001* |
| Peak PFJS | 4 | −0.71 (–1.28, –0.14) | 0.01* |
| Integral PFJS | 2 | −0.63 (–1.11, –0.15) | 0.01* |
| Peak knee axial contact force | 2 | 0.35 (–0.03, 0.72) | 0.07 |
| Peak knee stiffness | 2 | 1.45 (–0.51, 3.4) | 0.15 |
| Peak hip extension moment | 3 | 0.19 (–0.18, 0.57) | 0.31 |
| Peak hip eccentric power | 2 | −0.8 (–1.66, 0.06) | 0.07 |
| Peak hip axial contact force | 2 | 0.1 (–0.24, 0.43) | 0.58 |
IC, initial contact; PFJS, patellofemoral joint stress; VGRF, vertical ground-reaction force.
a
In the SMD column, positive values indicate that forefoot strike (FFS) is larger than rearfoot strike (RFS), and negative values indicate that RFS is larger than FFS.
*
Statistical significance between FFS and RFS.