Relationship between Kinematic Characteristics of High-performance Long-distance Runners and Leg Stiffness Based on Principal Component Analysis

Abstract

Greater leg stiffness during running has been associated with superior long-distance running performance. However, the kinematic characteristics for achieving greater leg stiffness have not been fully elucidated. In this study, principal component analysis (PCA) was performed on kinematic variables during running of 28 subjects, including 14 high-performance runners (HR), to investigate the relationship between leg stiffness and principal component vectors (PCVs) generated in PCA describing kinematic characteristics of HR. The results showed that only the first PCV (PCV1) was significantly greater in HR (p ‹ 0.01) and correlated with leg stiffness (r = 0.77, p ‹ 0.01). PCV1 described kinematic characteristics of HR related to greater leg stiffness, such as small pelvis vertical oscillation and small range of motion of the knee joint flexion during stance phase.