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Force Portraits
Viewing Force Portraits from Different Perspectives
Since forces exist in three dimensions, we project them into two-dimensional images for better analysis. There are three key perspectives to view a Force Portrait:
- Best for observing symmetry and stabilization forces.
- Displays how forces distribute from left to right.
- Harder to gauge acceleration and deceleration in this view.
- Most clearly shows the phases of the running cycle.
- Right side of the portrait represents accelerating forces.
- Left side represents decelerating forces.
- Upwards forces indicate weight loading during stabilization.
- Downwards forces appear when the runner is in free fall.
- Side-to-side asymmetries are harder to see from this angle.
- Best for analyzing forward, backward, and lateral forces.
- Helps visualize symmetry during the landing phase.
- Side-to-side forces are more apparent in this perspective.