Transient vibrations caused by heel strike and travelling vertically through the body have been monitored using accelerometers taped to the skin. A correction for skin movement based on the transmissibility function is described. The average velocity between the foot and the head for the heel-strike transient is 220 m/s. This velocity is greatest in the legs, 610 m/s, and least in the spine, 90 m/s. Shock absorption occurs mainly in the legs and to a lesser degree in the spine.