Análisis biomecánico de la Marcha Nórdica: efectos de la experiencia y de la velocidad de práctica sobre el patrón de presión plantar, las fuerzas de reacción del suelo y los niveles de impacto

In recent years, a new physical activity called Nordic Walking is having a great success, both in programs to improve physical fitness and rehabilitation treatments to special populations, for the benefits associated with their practice. Nordic walking is a form of contralateral motion with a pair of poles and a particular technique that by its simplicity and accessibility has increased its popularity within the field of physical activity and fitness. This increased popularity has been reflected mainly in a remarkable increase in the number of practitioners and has been supported by many scientific studies. Within the areas where greater force has had its implementation highlights the field of health promotion, rehabilitation and / or fitness, due in part to the numerous studies describing the benefits associated with cardiovascular and cardiorespiratory compared with walking. Also, some of its popularity is due to the promises of joint load reduction compared to the normal walking, which was refuted by the scientific literature, creating some controversy in this aspect. Also, behavior of plantar pressure pattern and levels of impact received in both the tibia and in the head has not been studying yet. Part of this controversy is due to the use of study subjects were extremely heterogeneous in terms of practical experience is concerned, so this PhD thesis describes on one hand the plantar pressure pattern during Nordic walking, the impact levels received and the ground reaction forces, taking into account factors such as practical experience analyzing two samples with different experience levels (beginners and experts), and execution speed.