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<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Barefoot running is growing in popularity as runners seek strategies to avoid running-related injuries (RRIs). A new theoretical perspective suggests that the improved cutaneous sensation during barefoot running results in a less injurious running style characterized by increased cadence, landing on the forefoot and more knee flexion. The mechanisms by which the barefoot running style may have an effect on RRIs are not well understood.</p> <p><strong>Purpose: </strong>Explore the new theoretical perspective on RRIs that supports the barefoot running style and investigate the effects of modified cutaneous sensation on the adaptation to and retention of the barefoot running style.</p> <p><strong>Methods: </strong>First, a scoping review was performed to identify implicit theory underlying both traditional shod and barefoot running research and practice. Second, a feasibility study investigated altered cutaneous sensation as a proposed mechanism by which a person learns and retains the skill of barefoot running. Sixteen participants ran shod on a treadmill then were randomized to receive one of four cutaneous sensation treatments. They then ran barefoot for the first time and 48 hours later. Changes in the cadences, foot angles and knee angles means and variations across runs and treatment groups were used to quantify learning and retention.</p> <p><strong>Results:</strong> The scoping review provided evidence that improved plantar cutaneous sensation, such as when one runs barefoot, could reduce the risk of RRIs. In the feasibility study, our findings suggest that barefoot compared to shod running increased plantar cutaneous sensory thresholds, and increased mean cadence and mean foot angle. Improved retention of the barefoot running style was shown in the treatment group with anaesthetic cream on their legs.</p> <p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Plantar cutaneous sensation is proposed as an important factor when exploring the etiology of RRIs. This knowledge may influence an individual’s risk of experiencing a running-related injury.</p> / Master of Science Rehabilitation Science (MSc)

<p>This thesis draws on data collected through semi-structured interviews with cross country and track athletes to investigate how female distance runners experience their sport in relation to gender and embodiment. The runners identified gender as affecting their sport by way of shorter distances for women’s races, heightened involvement of coaches in corporeal matters such as diet and weight, as well as sex verification policies. Distance running was also specifically identified as a sport that intensifies societal pressures for women to be thin. Grounded in Foucault’s concept of ‘docile bodies’, this thesis explores how dominant discourses on gender and the body are reproduced within the subculture of distance running through surveillance practices.</p> / Master of Arts (MA)

Participants were 20 (14 females and 6 males) first-time marathon runners registered for the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in Chicago, IL on October 7th, 2013. Participants were recruited for the purpose of exploring the effects of a 4-week individualized imagery training program on mental toughness and flow and asked to complete a demographics survey, the Movement Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ), the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ), Short Flow States Scale-2 (Short FSS-2), Sport Mental Toughness Questionnaire (SMTQ), and a Pre-Imagery Training Interview and then be divided into an experimental and control group (prior to running the marathon). Participants in the experimental group received a modified copy of a Chicago marathon training video and a tailored 10-15 minute imagery training session while participants in the control group received only the Chicago marathon training video. Next, participants ran in the Bank of America Chicago Marathon and, after the race, met with the researcher to complete the SIQ, Short FSS-2, SMTQ, and a post-imagery interview. Several themes emerged concerning the runners' understanding of the marathon course, race concerns, race goals, and race strategies at pretest as well as both positive and negative experiences during the marathon and their methods for coping and using the imagery during the marathon (reported at posttest). The experimental group had a moderate positive correlation between the imagery subscales of cognitive general (CG) and motivational-general mastery (MG-M) and mental toughness (MT) (r(6) = .761 and r(6)= .685, p &lt; .05 respectively). There was a moderate positive correlation between the imagery subscales of CG and MG-M and flow (r(6) = .719 and r(6) = .783, p &lt; .05 respectively). This would indicate that individuals high in using imagery as a means to goal set as well as master the course tended to have high flow scores. Cognitive specific (CS), motivational specific (MS), and motivational-general arousal (MG-A) had a small, non-significant correlation with MT (r(6) = .492, r(6) = .321, r(6) = .341, p &lt; .05) and a moderate relationship with flow (r(6) = .522, r(6) = .593, r(6) = .529, p &lt; .05). There is a high positive relationship between flow and MT (r(6) = .906, p &lt; .05), indicating that individuals who experienced high levels of flow also experienced high levels of MT. Control group participants had a moderate inverse relationship between CG and MT (r(4) = -.659, p &lt; .05) and moderate positive relationships between CG, MS, and MG-A and flow (r(4) = .662, r(4) = .710, and r(4) = .552, p &lt; .05 respectively) within control participants. For the control participants, flow and MT were not found to have a significant relationship (r(4) = .310, p &lt; .05); these results are consistent with the control participants' imagery, flow, and MT scores suggesting that flow did not have any effect on MT. Overall, the tailored imagery script training was found to be helpful for both flow and mental toughness. Recommendations for future research should focus on developing a 6-week psychological skills training program for first time marathon runners and developing research that focuses on periodizing imagery to coincide with runners' marathon training programs. / Kinesiology

Running injuries have been linked to poor lower extremity dynamic alignment, increased whole body and joint loading, and insufficient modulation of stiffness throughout stance phase. Upper body muscle activity and movement have a relationship to lower body dynamics; however, the literature has largely neglected their role during running. To date, biomechanical gait analysis has primarily focused on lower extremity mechanics and muscle activation patterns with no studies investigating the role of functional muscle synergies on stability and loading during running. Therefore, the primary objective of this project is to determine the role of the Back Functional Line (BFL), via measure of latissimus dorsi (LD), gluteus maximus (GM), and vastus lateralis (VL) muscle activity, during running and to determine their influence on lower extremity kinematics and kinematic predictors of loading that are linked to running-related injuries (RRI). We used conditions of arm swing constraint to manipulate the action of the LD and investigate the response in GM and VL muscles. Our main variables of interest include: 1) BFL muscle activity, specifically mean and peak amplitude, onset, and co-activation of the LD and GM 2) frontal plane lower extremity kinematics, and 3) kinematic predictors of kinetics, specifically foot inclination angle at initial contact and vertical COM displacement. Twenty healthy recreational runners (10 M; 10 F) participated in this study. Male runners tended to be slighter older with a higher weekly running mileage and longer running history. All participants were between the ages of 18 and 55 years old and consistently ran at least once per week. Participants ran under three arm conditions - free arm swing, unilateral arm swing constraint, and bilateral arm swing constraint. During the running trials, surface EMG and lower extremity kinematics were collected over the gait cycle. We operationally defined the primary BFL as the muscle synergy composed of the non-dominant upper extremity (i.e., constrained side during unilateral condition) LD muscle, the dominant GM muscle, and the dominant VL muscle. The secondary BFL was defined as the dominant upper extremity (i.e., unconstrained during unilateral condition) LD muscle, the non-dominant GM muscle, and the non-dominant VL muscle. Primary and secondary BFL muscle synergy activity were analyzed during two specific phases of gait - the pre-activation (PA) phase and the loading response (LR) phase. In support of the hypothesis, the primary BFL LD mean amplitude decreased during both the PA and LR phases of gait. GM and VL muscle mean amplitude demonstrated a varied response. During the PA phase, both the GM and VL muscles increased during the unilateral condition and decreased during the bilateral condition. During LR phase, GM and VL muscles increased during both arm swing constraint conditions. The highest increase in amplitude was seen during the unilateral condition. Peak amplitudes for each muscle did not change dramatically across conditions for either the PA or LR phases of gait. Secondary BFL LD and GM mean and peak amplitude increased during both the PA and LR phases of gait, with changes during the LR phase reaching significance for both muscles. Secondary BFL VL also increased in mean and peak amplitude during the bilateral constraint condition. GM and VL mean and peak muscle amplitude were significantly correlated during the LR phase, but not for the PA phase. This indicates that the lower extremity muscles of the BFL (GM and VL) may not be preparing for impact similarly but are adjusting muscle activity in a similar fashion as the lower limb is loaded. The increase in muscle amplitude for secondary BFL muscles, particularly during the LR phase of gait, may have resulted from a difference between lower limb strength or lower extremity single leg stability. Onset of muscle activity during loading response did not significantly differ across conditions for the LD, GM, or VL muscles, however, analysis of co-activation demonstrated that LD and GM were in-phase throughout the gait cycle. This suggests that this portion of the BFL may be acting together to stabilize the lumbopelvic-hip complex (LPHC) during running. LD and GM appeared to be co-activated throughout the gait cycle regardless of arm swing variation. Instability, either from asymmetrical movement patterns or poor single leg stability may contribute to the activation of the BFL muscle synergy. GM increased during the unilateral arm swing constraint during both phase and for both BFL synergies, indicating that asymmetrical movement patterns may induce a potential instability or an unstable state requiring the need for greater stability around the LPHC. Knee frontal plane kinematics changed significantly across conditions. Knee abduction angle showed the greatest increase during the unilateral arm swing constraint condition suggesting that asymmetrical movement patterns effect lower extremity mechanics more so than symmetrical patterns (i.e., bilateral arm swing restriction or free arm swing). Hip adduction and contralateral pelvic drop angles did not differ significantly across conditions. Our study did not find a significant relationship between BFL muscle activity and knee abduction angles. Participants demonstrated larger knee abduction angles on their non-dominant limb at midstance. The corresponding (secondary) BFL LD and GM demonstrated a significant increase during the LR phase. This may indicate that BFL muscle activity is engaged when the need for lower limb stability is greater, either due to poor single leg dynamic control or abnormal frontal plane mechanics. Kinematic predictors of joint and whole-body loading differed across conditions. Vertical COM displacement was significantly decreased during the bilateral arm swing constraint condition. Foot inclination angle at initial contact did not significantly change with arm swing constraint. Differences were found between right and left lower extremity foot strikes (i.e., foot inclination angle) across all conditions; the non-dominant limb demonstrated greater plantarflexion during initial contact. Knee flexion angle at initial contact and peak knee flexion during stance did not demonstrate a significant change. Muscle activity was not significantly correlated to kinematic predictors. Spatiotemporal measures altered with arm swing suppression. Stride length decreased and step rate increased significantly. Taken together, these results suggest that runners alter spatiotemporal measures more so than sagittal plane kinematics when adjusting to arm swing suppression. The role of the BFL muscle synergy during running remains unclear. Asymmetrical movement patterns and arm swing restriction appear to influence BFL muscle activity and lower extremity kinematics. Single leg stability, particularly during the LR phase, may alter BFL muscle activity due to the need for increased stabilization of the loaded limb and the LPHC. Future research is needed to determine how these variables impact BFL muscle activation and whether injured runners respond differently to arm swing constraint during running. / Physical Therapy