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Thanks Jim,
I was intrigued that they quote Bruggemann as saying:
"The prosthetics return 90 per cent of the impact energy, compared to the 60
per cent of the human foot."
I wonder what people think about that statement - are there any studies to
back up the 60% figure for normal running? It seems very high to me.
Chris
PS: I do wish news reports would call artificial limbs 'prostheses' instead
of 'prosthetics' :-)
On Dec 22, 2007 6:13 PM, Jamie S. Carruthers wrote:
>
> Members may be interested in:
>
>
> _http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3075840.ec
> e _
> (
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3075840.ece
> )
>
>
> Report delivers premature blow to Olympic hopes of Oscar Pistorius
> Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee sprinter who wants to be allowed
> to run in the Olympic Games, is given "a considerable advantage" over
> his able-bodied competitors by his prosthetic blades, the man charged
> with testing him said yesterday.
>
> "He [Pistorius] has a considerable advantage compared with athletes
> without prosthetic limbs who have undergone the same tests,"
> Professor Peter Bruggemann told Die Welt, the German newspaper,
> yesterday before Pistorius had seen his report of the tests. "The
> difference is several percentage points and I did not think the
> findings would be so clear.
>
> "His aerobic performance was worse, his anaerobic performance was the
> same. He could be in better shape. The fact that he still runs the
> same times as the other runners is due to his prosthetics. The
> prosthetics return 90 per cent of the impact energy, compared to the
> 60 per cent of the human foot."
>
> Bruggemann, the director of the Institute of Biomechanics at the
> German Sports University in Cologne, last month conducted private
> tests on Pistorius and six able-bodied athletes who had similar 400-
> metre times. The IAAF, which commissioned and paid for the tests,
> received Bruggemann's report on Tuesday and Pistorius became aware of
> receiving an e-mail with them attached only last night after being
> contacted by The Times.
>
> Bruggemann suggested that the way Pistorius runs is different from
> able-bodied athletes. "It looks good, smooth, somehow elegant [when
> Pistorius runs]," Bruggemann said. "It's a totally different kind of
> movement. He was incredibly co-operative and open. I think most of
> all he wants to be better and faster. If he continues to improve his
> stamina, I could imagine him breaking the non-disabled world record
> over 800 metres."
>
> Pistorius will have been shocked by the disclosure of the results
> because he was not expecting any public announcements until the new
> year at the earliest. "The IAAF does not plan to discuss the contents
> of the report, or make any public announcement about any decision
> related to the report, until January 10, 2008," it said in a
> statement yesterday. The IAAF has not come to an official verdict,
> but the decision of the council will be based on Bruggemann's report,
> so that seems academic.
>
> Pistorius, 21, was born without fibula muscles and his legs were
> amputated below the knee at 11 months old. He has said that he would
> stop running in able-bodied competition if the tests proved that his
> carbon-fibre blades — called "Cheetahs" by Ossur, the manufacturer —
> gave him an edge. But he did not expect the tests to go against him,
> saying that if they did, he would seek a second opinion from another
> set of independent tests.
>
> ===================
> Jamie Carruthers
> Wakefield, UK
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Information about BIOMCH-L: http://www.Biomch-L.org
> Archives: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/Biomch-L.html
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
--
Dr. Chris Kirtley MB ChB, PhD
608 Dockside
44 Ferry St.
Kangaroo Point
Queensland 4169
Australia
Tel. (07) 3891 6644 x 1608
Fax 3891 6900
West End Family Medical Centre
Wednesdays & Fridays (07) 3844 4111
Clinical Gait Analysis: http://www.univie.ac.at/cga
Book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0443100098/203-6674734-4427132
I was intrigued that they quote Bruggemann as saying:
"The prosthetics return 90 per cent of the impact energy, compared to the 60
per cent of the human foot."
I wonder what people think about that statement - are there any studies to
back up the 60% figure for normal running? It seems very high to me.
Chris
PS: I do wish news reports would call artificial limbs 'prostheses' instead
of 'prosthetics' :-)
On Dec 22, 2007 6:13 PM, Jamie S. Carruthers wrote:
>
> Members may be interested in:
>
>
> _http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3075840.ec
> e _
> (
> http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/more_sport/athletics/article3075840.ece
> )
>
>
> Report delivers premature blow to Olympic hopes of Oscar Pistorius
> Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee sprinter who wants to be allowed
> to run in the Olympic Games, is given "a considerable advantage" over
> his able-bodied competitors by his prosthetic blades, the man charged
> with testing him said yesterday.
>
> "He [Pistorius] has a considerable advantage compared with athletes
> without prosthetic limbs who have undergone the same tests,"
> Professor Peter Bruggemann told Die Welt, the German newspaper,
> yesterday before Pistorius had seen his report of the tests. "The
> difference is several percentage points and I did not think the
> findings would be so clear.
>
> "His aerobic performance was worse, his anaerobic performance was the
> same. He could be in better shape. The fact that he still runs the
> same times as the other runners is due to his prosthetics. The
> prosthetics return 90 per cent of the impact energy, compared to the
> 60 per cent of the human foot."
>
> Bruggemann, the director of the Institute of Biomechanics at the
> German Sports University in Cologne, last month conducted private
> tests on Pistorius and six able-bodied athletes who had similar 400-
> metre times. The IAAF, which commissioned and paid for the tests,
> received Bruggemann's report on Tuesday and Pistorius became aware of
> receiving an e-mail with them attached only last night after being
> contacted by The Times.
>
> Bruggemann suggested that the way Pistorius runs is different from
> able-bodied athletes. "It looks good, smooth, somehow elegant [when
> Pistorius runs]," Bruggemann said. "It's a totally different kind of
> movement. He was incredibly co-operative and open. I think most of
> all he wants to be better and faster. If he continues to improve his
> stamina, I could imagine him breaking the non-disabled world record
> over 800 metres."
>
> Pistorius will have been shocked by the disclosure of the results
> because he was not expecting any public announcements until the new
> year at the earliest. "The IAAF does not plan to discuss the contents
> of the report, or make any public announcement about any decision
> related to the report, until January 10, 2008," it said in a
> statement yesterday. The IAAF has not come to an official verdict,
> but the decision of the council will be based on Bruggemann's report,
> so that seems academic.
>
> Pistorius, 21, was born without fibula muscles and his legs were
> amputated below the knee at 11 months old. He has said that he would
> stop running in able-bodied competition if the tests proved that his
> carbon-fibre blades — called "Cheetahs" by Ossur, the manufacturer —
> gave him an edge. But he did not expect the tests to go against him,
> saying that if they did, he would seek a second opinion from another
> set of independent tests.
>
> ===================
> Jamie Carruthers
> Wakefield, UK
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
> Information about BIOMCH-L: http://www.Biomch-L.org
> Archives: http://listserv.surfnet.nl/archives/Biomch-L.html
> ---------------------------------------------------------------
>
--
Dr. Chris Kirtley MB ChB, PhD
608 Dockside
44 Ferry St.
Kangaroo Point
Queensland 4169
Australia
Tel. (07) 3891 6644 x 1608
Fax 3891 6900
West End Family Medical Centre
Wednesdays & Fridays (07) 3844 4111
Clinical Gait Analysis: http://www.univie.ac.at/cga
Book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0443100098/203-6674734-4427132