| Controlled heel impacts were imparted to 20 participants (9 M and 11 F) in the horizontal plane using a human pendulum. Displacement and velocity of leg soft tissue were determined from automatic detection (ProAnalyst ®) of manually digitized skin markers. Overall, the soft tissue moved with a mean peak displacement of 2.14 cm and velocity of 105.5 cm/s. Regions with greater amounts of soft tissue (proximal, and back of the leg) experienced greater displacement and velocity than distal regions and regions on the front of the leg, respectively. Displacement and velocity were greater in distal regions for males and in proximal regions for females, while the magnitude of tissue masses (fat mass, lean mass, bone mineral content and wobbling mass) had significantly different effects on tissue kinematics between the sexes. These results provide important information which will help us better understand how shock propagates through the body.;Keywords: lower extremity, displacement, velocity, tissue composition, sex differences. |
