Measurement error of 3-D kinematic and kinetic measures during overground endurance running in recreational runners between two test sessions separated by 48 hours.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to quantify measurement error of 3-D kinematic and kinetic measures during overground endurance running between two sessions separated by 48 hours.

APPROACH: 13 recreational runners were assessed on two occasions while running overground, over embedded force plates and through an array of 3-D cameras.

MAIN RESULTS: In the sagittal, frontal and transverse planes, over the entire stance phase, the typical error of kinematic variables ranged from 1.33° - 6.16° for the hip, 1.38° - 6.01° for the knee and 0.48° - 7.36° for the ankle. Over the same time period and planes typical error of peak-joint moments ranged from 0.04 - 0.54 Nm·Kg-1 for the hip, 0.06 - 0.37 Nm·Kg-1 for the knee and 0.01 - 0.15 Nm·Kg-1 for the ankle.

SIGNIFICANCE: Results suggest 3-D kinematic and kinetic measures of the stance phase in overground-endurance running are reliable between sessions separated by 48 hours. The measurement error reported here could inform sample-size estimates for future studies and provide smallest-detectable changes for the interpretation of interventions performed over a similar time scale.