Award Date

5-1-2021

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Kinesiology and Nutrition Sciences

First Committee Member

John Mercer

Second Committee Member

Brian K. Schilling

Third Committee Member

James Navalta

Fourth Committee Member

Jennifer Pharr

Number of Pages

53

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to mechanically impact test shoes that underwent both saturation and repetitive loading protocols to determine if these interventions affected the impact absorption and energy return properties of a shoe. Six pairs of the same make and model of shoe were divided into Control and Experimental Groups and tested on an impact machine before and after undergoing a protocol. The repetitive load protocol involved subjecting the shoes to impacts commensurate with a 5 km race. The water saturation protocol involved soaking the shoes until reaching their maximum saturation. The Control shoes underwent initial testing and post-repetitive load testing. The Experimental shoes underwent initial testing, post-water saturation testing, and post-repetitive load testing while water saturated. Dependent Variables (peak force, peak acceleration, maximum displacement, dwell time, energy absorption, hysteresis energy ratio) were compared using a two-way mixed Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) for the Independent Variables of shoe group (two levels – control and experimental) and repetitive loading (two levels – initial and post repetitive loading). The same Dependent Variables were compared using a one-way repeated measures ANOVA for the Independent Variable of time (initial, post-saturation, post-repetitive loading) in the Experimental Group. It was determined that energy return (energy absorption, hysteresis energy ratio) was influenced by water saturation (p < 0.05) but not by repetitive loading (p > 0.05) or the interaction of water saturation and repetitive loading (p > 0.05). Impact protection was not influenced by any of the conditions. Runners should be aware that wet shoes may be harder to run in and make efforts to avoid saturation.

Keywords

Energy return; Repetitive loading; Running shoes; Shock absorption; Water saturation

Disciplines

Biomechanics

File Format

pdf

File Size

1096 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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Biomechanics Commons

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