Development and validation of system for measuring poling forces during nordic walking

Abstract

Background: Recently, the popularity of Nordic walking (NW) has been rising steadily. Many scientific studies researched the promising and beneficial effects of this form of physical activity. However, only a few studies provided data about the forces acting on the poles. We did not find a commercially available system that enables the measurement of the poling forces. Objective: The objective of this paper was to develop and validate a system for measuring the poling forces during NW. Methods: Strain gauge force tranducers were mounted below the grips of standard NW poles. The transducer signals were amplified and converted to digital form for transmitting to a personal computer. Special software was developed for processing the measured data and the calculation method of output variables was described. Validation of the system was performed using a Kistler force plate. Poling cycles with peak force of about 150 N were imitated by pressing the pole over a force plate. Results: A function sample of the measurement system was constructed. Validation yielded the mean absolute error of 1.1 N in case of poling cycles without pole impacts or 3.0 N in case of poling cycles with impacts. Conclusions: The validation result of our system is comparable to the results of similar systems used for measurements during cross-country skiing. The system enables independent measurement of the poling forces on both poles and the duration of measurement can be up to one hour. The system provides a tool that can be used to answer a number of questions that researches raise about NW. Understanding of the biomechanical and physiological aspects of poling action can constitute a scientific basis for promoting, teaching and training of NW.