In the current era of our culture, the pressure to become more fit and healthy leads to all new speculations regaurding health and our early ancestors. From eating like a “cave man” with the paleo diet to running with the trendy barefoot style running shoes, it seems like, now more than ever people are trying to mirror early Homo sapiens. Media and ads are pushing our culture to become more natural to the point that new evidence may suggest it may not be as beneficial in terms of avoiding injury for long distance runners, as discovered by Kevin Hatala, Heather Dingwall, Roshna Wundelich and Brian Richmond.
Researchers from George Washington University in Washington D.C decided to investigate the earliest human runners. Through researching early Kenyans, studies have found that early hominines did not wear any type of foot wear, which provides a direct link showing that individuals were walking barefoot through the heart of Africa. Fossil footprints found in Ilerert, Kenya, also showed evidence of this. This group of researchers was trying to connect ancient runners to those of African runners, hoping to solidify the idea of running barefoot. These individuals tend to run shorter distances at high speeds and strike the ground with either the back of their heels or the full foot.
Through the entire article there is evidence to does not support the hypothesis that says a forefoot striking pattern is 'typical' running gait of those who are customarily barefoot people. The largest amount of those who were being observed in this study instead used the rear food strike in long endurance running when compared to those who ran a shorter distance. During this study, the article shows that the percentage of Kalenjin of Kenya who have a...
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...elps us to relate back to our early hominid ancestors with the way in which they possibly may have ran. To me this article was interesting on the different types of running pattern but was hard to relate to those early ancestors that had lived in Africa millions of years ago. So much evolution has changed not only the human species but the environment and what we may be running to or from. Not all barefoot individuals run with a certain strike pattern. As a runner I took away interesting facts about how different foot striking patterns impact the legs differently. It would be interesting to see how different types of striking patterns affect and favor different groups of humans differently.
Works Cited
Hatala KG, Dingwall HL, Wunderlich RE, et al. 2013. Variation in Foot Strike Patterns during Running among Habitually Barefoot Populations. PLoS ONE 8(1): e52548.
Kenya is located in East Africa and is dominated by the Great Rift Valley. A rift valley developed from faulting caused by tension in the earth’s crust. The sides of the valley are usually steep and can be up to 2,000 meters high. The Great Rift Valley gives Kenya areas of great elevation. This elevation equals thinning of the air as you get to higher and higher altitudes, which makes it more difficult to breath, especially when running. This altitude plus the equatorial latitudes creates and ideal climate for sustained outdoor activity – comfortably warm days, cool nights, low humidity. That with the altitude’s aerobic benefits, show how Kenya’s highlands are ideal for distance running. It should also be noted that every one of the country’s world-class runners is a highlander.
Anderson, D. I., & Sidaway, B. (2013) Kicking biomechanics: Importance of balance. Lower Extremity Review Magazine.
The Sioux Grass Dance is considered to be the most popular style of Native American Music. As one dances to this music, they follow a pattern known as “toe-heel.” This consists of the individual placing the left foot in front of the right and repeating with the other foot. Each male dancer makes many personal variations of this dance resulting in a so...
Bipedalism had many advantages, but it also had many disadvantages and provided dangers to early hominids. Some of these disadvantages included i...
The speed of the runner is very easy to determine. It's only stride length times stride frequency, for example if you travel five feet in one stride and you take three strides per second you're speed will be 15 feet per second. Basic math. Although, there are three different types of stride lengths, takeoff, flight, and landing distance. Takeoff distance is the distance that the body's center of mass is ahead of the toe of the front foot at the instant the back foot leaves the ground. The flight distance is the distance that the body's COM travels while the runner is in the air. The landing distance is the distance that the toe of...
Running may have a heavier toll on the body than any other sport, literally. With each stride, force of two to three times the bodies weight is hammered on the joint, muscles, and tendons.
Of the more than twenty million Americans who are running today, most who start do so for the wrong reasons, with the wrong attitude, and tend to lose interest after a few weeks or months. Many quit. This is usually because they become concerned with superficial goals such as time and distance and never discover the more profound mental benefits that running offers. (Lilliefors 15)
There are three-foot movements in gait the heel rocker, ankle rocker, and forefoot rocker. The heel rocker starts when the foot makes initial contact or heel strike with the ground and ends at foot flat. This is where the ankle is usually at ninety degrees of plantar flexion and it is the motion that is typically blocked by the AFO’s (331). The ankle rocker is the second movement in the gait pattern. It is when the foot is in full contact with the ground and ends at heel off. Then the forefoot rocker begins which is the third foot movement in the gait pattern. The forefoot rocker begins at heel off and it continues until the foot is off of the ground. At this point during gait the toes start to extend about fifty-five degrees before the foot leaves the ground (331). Extending the toes during gait helps allow the body to move forward over the foot. So if the forefoot rocker is blocked during gait the child may not be able to move forward. The child may compensate by shortening the foot length or doing inversion or eversion of the foot (332).
Numerous studies and researches were also conducted to prove that barefoot running is the best way to go. One of the studies was led by Dr. Griffith Pugh and Bruce Tulloh in 1961. Their scientific research revealed that barefoot running gives a 100m advantage in a 10,000m race and that barefoot runners can accelerate more quickly than runners with shoes. Christopher McDougall, the author of Born to Run, the book that has inspired runners to try barefoot running, claims that our ancestors have survived running and hunting for years without shoes.
It demonstrates that constraint is specifically corresponding to speed and conversely relative to time, which is the reason they make off stride ought to be shot. 55, 100, 110, 300 or 400 meter races with obstacles scattered through the race at different statures and in different amounts.
Running is a natural form of human locomotion. To many, running is an essential aspect of most sports and is also a simple way that requires little to get exercise anywhere. But because many people have adapted to improper forms of running over time, numerous physical injuries are the results. With the help of understanding the physics behind running, people can learn to run in such a way that expends less energy from the body. Keeping physics in mind may also lead to less injuries and effortless running. Remember, physics can be very helpful when running!
Main drivers for US profitability has been within women shoes, broken down in sub categories of casual (17%), dress (13%), and athletic (10%) shoes, composing roughly a 40% demand of the market. However, domestically men’s athletic shoes represent 20% of the market and show signs of increase, globally men’s athletic shoes make up 30% of the market. This increase in sales within the athletic sub-category can be lead by the increase in demand for shoes that allow easy, fast movement. Studies show that ages within 18 and 45 in the U.S. have increased physical fitness by 17% since 2006. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, outdoor footwear grew...
Mackie, Gerry. "Ending Footbinding and Infibulation: A Convention Account". American Sociological Review. December 1996, Vol.61, Issue 6.
1.9 million years ago, Homo Habilis of East Africa had evolved into an entirely new species known as Homo erectus. Homo erectus directly translates to "Upright man" and for good reason. One of largest anatomical advancements of Homo erectus was their arm and leg bones which were very similar in shape and proportions to that of modern day humans. "Their legs would have made Homo erectus efficient long distance runners like modern humans."(Dennis). Along with their longer more developed legs, Homo erectus's leg were also hairless which allowed them to evaporate sweat and thus be more efficient at not overheating. This advantage allowed Homo erectus to chase down four legged mammals to the point of heat exhaustion and thus drastically increase the efficiency their hunting tactics. Another change in the legs of Homo erectus was their slightly more narrow pelvises. This forced the size of a child’s head to be smaller at birth and undergo most of its development during childhood. (Dennis)
Mao, John. “Foot Binding: Beauty and Culture”. Internet Journal of Biological Anthropology. 1.2. (2008): n. pag. Academic Search Complete. Web. 8 Dec 2011.