Sprinter's feet are short heels and long fingers

A long toe and an ankle with a distinctive structure create an explosive acceleration characteristic of the Sprinter, which is the deciding factor for separating the elite of short distance running from other runnersPenn State UniversitySuch asBiomechanicsResearch revealed. It seems that there are "sprinter-oriented feet" like birth to run for a short distance, but what sort of feet is it?

Details are as below.Short Heels Make Elite Sprinters Super Speedy: Longer Toes, Unique Ankle Structure Aid Sprinters

"To accelerate the runner at the start of the sprint is only the reaction of the force of the foot muscles pushing the ground," Stephen Piazza, associate professor of exercise physiology at the University of Pennsylvania. "Long toe fingers make contact with the ground just a little longer than other runners and favor Sprinter."

Associate Professor Piazza and a graduate of State University of Pennsylvania and now in VancouverSimon Fraser UniversityIntoPostdoctoral fellowshipDr. Sabrina S. M. Lee enrolled as a researcher examined the difference between the muscular structure of the foot and the ankle of a person who is not Sprinter and Sprinter,Journal of Experimental BiologyI announced it in the magazine.

In the study, we measured the distance from the heel to the toe for 12 short-distance athletes at the university level and 12 people who are not athletes with the same height as each other, and sliding of the Achilles tendon (ken) when moving the ankle by ultrasonic diagnostic imaging Was measured. This allows you to calculate the leverage of the tendon.

"It was found that the distance from the center of rotation of the ankle to the tendon was significantly shorter (about 25%) in the Sprinter, this difference being due to this efficiency and the ability to generate muscle powerTrade offIt will be explained by Piazza Associate Professor. The longer the distance from the center of rotation to the force point, the more the same forceMoment, But at that time the distance at which the muscles contract by the same ankle rotation angle also becomes longer and the muscles need to contract quickly. If the distance from the center of rotation to the power point is short, this efficiency gets worse, the length the muscles contract is shortened, and it can shrink slowly. When the muscle contracts slowly, it can produce a stronger force, which seems to be able to lightly cover the inefficient part.

Literature on foot shape and sprint is still small, but due to past research on animals ostriches andGreyhound, Cheetah knows that the structure of the foot is short-range running. Researchers have developed a computer model to analyze previously measured physiological data in order to understand what kind of shape the human foot should be like advantageous for sprint similar to these.

"I simulated how the acceleration of the sprinter changes when changing the length of this hand (the distance between the axis of rotation of the ankle and the Achilles tendon) and the length of the toes," Piazza Associate Professor. "As a result, it turned out that this hand is the shortest and maximum acceleration is obtained when the toes are the longest."

Associate Professor Piazza also cited a recent doctrine that modern people's short toe is an evolutionary adaptation for running long distances, "Our ancestors with long toes are superior to us now as Sprinter In the days when it was important to move on trees, a long toe was selected, but as running a long distance becomes more important for survival, our toes It may be that it is getting shorter. "

This research result may be one of the pieces of a puzzle to judge who can potentially be a good sprinter, but other physiological factors such as body shape / cardiovascular physiology and type of muscle fiber Researchers are paying attention that they should also be considered.

It is not yet clear whether the sprint ability is congenital or whether the shape of the foot bone is affected by training. "It will not be such a remarkable idea that the sprint-oriented bone shape is distinguished by training, but if it turns out that the characteristics of the skeleton of Sprinter are unchanging," Sprinter is made It is going to support the maxim of the land coaches who are born not ", Associate Professor Piazza says.