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The Impact of the Spartathlon Ultramarathon Race on Athletes' Plantar Pressure Patterns

Laboratory of Functional Anatomy and Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kapodestrian University of Athens, Greece, drkaragounis{at}yahoo.gr

Giorgos Prionas, MSc

Laboratory of Functional Anatomy and Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kapodestrian University of Athens, Greece

Elias Armenis, MSc

Laboratory of Functional Anatomy and Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kapodestrian University of Athens, Greece

Georgios Tsiganos, PhD

Laboratory of Sports Medicine and Biology of Physical Activity, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kapodestrian University of Athens, Greece

Panagiotis Baltopoulos, MD, PhD

Laboratory of Functional Anatomy and Sports Medicine, Department of Physical Education and Sports Science, Kapodestrian University of Athens, Greece

More than 90% of injuries in runners are recorded in the lower extremity, equally affecting the regions of the knee, shank, and foot. Stress fractures are responsible for numerous running-related injuries. In the current study, the plantar pressure patterns of prerace, immediately postrace, and 24 hours after long-distance running in the Spartathlon were analyzed to compare foot loading in the respective conditions. Forty-six male participants of the Spartathlon ultramarathon were examined before, immediately after completion of the race, and 24 hours later with plantar pressure measurements during barefoot walking on a capacitive platform. The results revealed a significant increase in the peak pressure and impulse values in the forefoot areas and a decrease under the toes before and immediately after the race. On the contrary, no significant differences were found between the prerace and the 24-hour postrace values. The present findings indicate that the Spartathlon race leads to significant variations in foot-loading characteristics, especially in the peak pressure and impulse values under the forefoot and toe regions. Twenty-four-hour postrace data measurements reveal insignificant differences from the prerace statement, probably because of the restoration of local muscular activity.

Key Words: adolescent foot problems • forefoot-toe-midfoot • biomechanical abnormalities • gait analysis • podiatric assessment in sports

This version was published on August 1, 2009

Foot & Ankle Specialist, Vol. 2, No. 4, 173-178 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1938640009342894


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