The effect of gait velocity on calcaneal balance at heel strike; Implications for orthotic prescription in injury prevention (original) (raw)

A comparison between static and dynamic foot mobility magnitude measures

Traditional methods used to assess foot posture during dynamic activities rely on static measures of foot dimensions during partial weight bearing. In recent years, evidence was found which links musculoskeletal and overuse injury patterns in athletes to foot posture. To be able to accurately assess the relationship between injury patterns and foot posture, it might be necessary to study changes in the foot posture during the dynamic activities that the athlete normally undertakes. The purpose of this research is to introduce a method which can be used to measure changes in the foot posture during dynamic activities, hence providing a better prediction of the changes in the foot posture and its relationship to lower limb injuries. The results from static and dynamic Foot posture measures were compared for two subjects and the results showed significant differences.

A comparision between static and dynamic foot mobility magnitude measures

Efficiency of gait measurement after complex foot trauma

Foot and Ankle Surgery, 1996

Four different gait analysis techniques (three-dimensional kinematic analysis, two force plates, dynamic electromyography (EMG), dynamic analysis of plantar pressure distribution) were employed in a study on 10 normal subjects and 12 patients after treatment of displaced calcaneal fractures. The aim was to evaluate each method for accuracy of measurement of the severity of functional impairment. Analysis of ankle joint kinematics revealed that the loss of motion after trauma at the subtalar joint (range of motion after injury 2.9 _+ 2.0 °, normal subjects 7.5 + 2.6 °) was compensated by an increased inward rotation of the foot. If the foot adduction mechanism did not suffice to prevent lateralization of the resultant force, additional inverting or adducting mechanisms (at the ankle, knee, hip and the pelvic level) could be demonstrated. Generally, three-dimensional joint moments and the shank muscle activity pattern were changed at an insignificant level. Force plate data and the analysis of plantar pressure distribution allowed us to assess gait with an accuracy of 83%. For evaluation of dynamic joint motion at the ankle level or above, classical kinetic-kinematic studies are indispensable but, as the kinetics and kinematics at the examined joint levels are highly complex, they can hardly be used to formulate a simple and reliable measure of gait. As the ground reaction force and the plantar impulse distribution as assessed by dynamic pedography represent the net sum of the effects of both the primary gait disturbance and the existing compensation mechanisms, these methods can easily be used for verification and quantification of gait disturbance with an acceptable cost/effectiveness ratio.

Influences of inversion/eversion of the foot upon impact loading during locomotion

Clinical Biomechanics, 1995

Pronation of the foot is believed to be one of the mechanisms used during locomotion to attenuate the loading experienced by the body at ground contact. The purpose of this study was to quantify the changes in loading induced by modifications to the normal pronation of the foot during walking and running. Impact loading in 10 subjects was determined using ground reaction force and tibia1 acceleration. The results indicated that impact loading was increased when normal pronation was prevented during running. However, there was no reduction in impact loading when normal pronation was exaggerated. Relevance Orthotic corrections are commonly prescribed to control excessive foot pronation in patients who experience knee pain. The findings of the present paper demonstrate that pronation modifications can affect the magnitude of the impact experienced by the body during locomotion. It was also found that the loading responses to pronation modifications were not consistent between walking and running. Thus care should be exercised when orthotics that will be used for both walking and running are prescribed. Furthermore, patients should be informed that their orthotics may be activity specific.

The ability to predict dynamic foot posture from static measurements

Emerging evidence suggests that foot posture is linked to musculoskeletal pathology and overuse injuries, particularly in runners. 1, 2 Foot posture or structure is often determined by measurement of the medial longitudinal arch. To detect abnormal foot structure in a patient, it is imperative to complete a comprehensive clinical examination. It is also considered best practice to evaluate dynamic motion in functional tasks that aggravate symptoms. 3 Measuring the quantity and quality of motion dynamically in a clinical setting is often difficult, time-consuming, and expensive. As a result, clinicians commonly use static measures, with an implicit understanding that "structure dictates function." 4 An issue for practitioners is that research is inconclusive when explaining the relationship between static and dynamic measures of foot posture. McPoil and Cornwall 5 investigated the ability of 17 static measurements of the lower extremity to predict maximum rearfoot pronation and time to maximum pronation during walking. This study found that only one static measure-difference in navicular height between resting and neutral standing postures-predicted maximum rearfoot pronation. However, this measure explained only 17% of the variability associated with maximum rearfoot pronation and led the authors to the conclusion that static measurements are poor predictors of dynamic foot function, as found in previous studies. 6 Conventionally, subtalar joint motion has been measured using landmarks on the distal leg and calcaneum, yet Stacoff et al 7 suggest that when evaluating orthotic effects on foot motion, midfoot and forefoot movements may be more important than that of the calcaneus. Such thoughts have prompted the search for a more appropriate measure of foot posture and investigations into measurements obtained from the medial side of the foot, such as arch height ratio and longitudinal arch angle. 8, 9 Longitudinal arch angle was first defined by Dahle Background: A study was undertaken to investigate the ability to predict dynamic foot posture from static measurements. Methods: Arch height and arch height ratio measurements were obtained from videotape images of the medial aspect of the foot during standing, walking, and jogging in 5 male and 13 female asymptomatic subjects. Results: Arch height and arch height ratio measurements taken in standing explained 66% to 83% of the variance associated with these measurements at midstance during walking and running. Arch height and arch height ratio demonstrated high reliability as static and dynamic measures. Conclusions: The results of this study support the use of arch height and arch height ratio measurements taken statically in the clinical assessment of the foot and may assist the clinician in estimating foot posture during dynamic activity in patients with lower-limb injuries.

The influence of running shoes on the biomechanics of the foot and lower limb

2015

Running shoes are designed to reduce injury risk and enhance performance. In line with traditional running injury paradigms running shoes aim to reduce the magnitude and/or rate of foot motion and impact loading. While numerous studies have explored the influence of different shoe modifications upon these parameters, limited work has explored how different types of conventional running shoe influence foot and lower limb kinematics. Therefore the overarching aim of this thesis was to determine the influence of different types of running shoe on shod foot and lower limb motion during running. Twenty-eight active males (26 ± 7years, 1.77 ± 0.05m, 79 ± 9kg) participated in the main phase of testing. Participants ran in three types of running shoe (motion control, neutral and cushioned) at a self-selected pace, on a treadmill. Three-dimensional lower limb and inter-segmental foot kinematics were calculated from the position of retro-reflective markers tracked by a VICON motion analysis s...

The effect of gait velocity on calcaneal balance at heel strike; Implications for orthotic prescription in injury prevention (original) (raw)

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