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. 2023 Nov 3;18(11):e0293959.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0293959. eCollection 2023.

Force plate coverings significantly affect measurement of ground reaction forces

Tina Smith  1 , Massimiliano Ditroilo  2
Affiliations

Force plate coverings significantly affect measurement of ground reaction forces

Tina Smith et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to carry out a material test to investigate the effect of different force plate coverings on vertical and horizontal ground reaction force and derived parameters. Four surface conditions were analysed; bare plate, vinyl, sportflex, and astroturf on a Kistler force plate. Vertical data were collected by dropping a 2 kg rigid, textured medicine ball from a low (61 cm) and a high (139 cm) height. Horizontal data were collected using a custom-built, rigid, metal pendulum device. A one-way ANOVA revealed a significant main effect of surface on peak force and rate of force development for high height, low height, and horizontal force conditions (all p<0.001), with effect sizes in the post-hoc analysis being mostly large to very large. Interestingly, sportflex yielded the highest vertical but the lowest horizontal ground reaction forces. This study showed the use of current force platform coverings had a significant effect on peak force and rate of force development measurements during a standardised testing procedure. Future research should try to obtain rate of force development values that more closely replicate aspects of human performance during standardised testing procedures. Also further investigate the effect of the different surfaces on ground reaction forces during human movement.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Custom-built pendulum device used to collect horizontal ground reaction force data.
The contact point of the pendulum arm was composed of solid metal with a protective covering constructed from the outer shell of a standard tennis ball. The pendulum arm was retracted to a standardised angle each trial and manually released by the same researcher, before making contact with the force platform.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Raw force/time trace following a ball drop.
GRF = ground reaction force; RFD = rate of force development.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Vertical and horizontal ground reaction forces (mean and SD) recorded under different conditions.
H = drop from high height; L = drop from low height.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Rate of force development (mean and SD) calculated from ground reaction force curves recorded under different conditions.
H = drop from high height; L = drop from low height.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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