Reliability and validity of a low-cost portable force platform

Abstract

BACKGROUND: A small, portable, inexpensive FP is a helpful test instrument in many strength and conditioning settings. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and validity of a portable FP. METHODS: The FP was assessed statically for linearity and regionality using known weights and known weight placements across nine regions. Dynamic assessment was conducted by placing the FP on a laboratory-grade one-dimensional FP and performing static jumps, countermovement, and drop jumps with synchronized data acquisition. Frequency response of the FP was assessed by striking the top surface with a hammer. RESULTS: Excellent static linearity (r>0.99), trivial differences in regional forces, excellent correlation between FPs in the static, countermovement, and anchored FP for the drop jump (all r>0.98) were observed. Frequency response from an impact was poor when the FP was not anchored. However, once anchored the FP showed a dominant frequency of more than 10 times the typical jump frequencies and excellent synchrony with the laboratory FP (r>0.98). CONCLUSION: The FP showed good to excellent characteristics in the static and countermovement jumps and the drop jumps when anchored. The primary limitation of the FP is its small size and light weight.

Limiting the Use of Electromyography and Ground Reaction Force Data Changes the Magnitude and Ranking of Modelled Anterior Cruciate Ligament Forces

“…Currently, vertical GRF can be measured in-field using AI [ 49 , 50 ], commercially available instrumented insoles [ 51 ], and one-dimensional force platforms [ 52 ]. This study demonstrated that using only vertical GRF resulted in significantly larger estimates of ACL loading ( Figure 2 , mean differences ranging from 89.1 to 253.8 N) compared to 3D GRF, irrespective of the neural model employed.…”

The Role of Emergent Technologies in the Dynamic and Kinematic Assessment of Human Movement in Sport and Clinical Applications

“…They can measure the value sampled in time of the force components applied to them according to the three axes. By processing these values, proper software can compute several parameters useful for functional assessment [55]. In particular, the main parameters investigated were the vertical force, the impulse force, the peak of force, the rate of force development, the acceleration, the velocity, the power, and the displacement position change [56].…”