The Effect of Custom-Made Braces for the Ankle and Hindfoot on Ankle and Foot Kinematics and Ground Reaction Forces

Background Normative foot kinematic and kinetic data with different walking speeds will benefit rehabilitation programs and improving gait performance. The purpose of this study was to analyze foot kinematics and kinetics differences between slow walking (SW), normal walking (NW) and fast walking (FW) of healthy subjects. Methods A total of 10 healthy male subjects participated in this study; they were asked to carry out walks at a self-selected speed. After measuring and averaging the results of NW, the subjects were asked to perform a 25% slower and 25% faster walk, respectively. Temporal-spatial parameters, kinematics of the tibia (TB), hindfoot (HF), forefoot (FF) and hallux (HX), and ground reaction forces (GRFs) were recorded while the subjects walked at averaged speeds of 1.01 m/s (SW), 1.34 m/s (NW), and 1.68 m/s (FW). Results Hindfoot relative to tibia (HF/TB) and forefoot relative to hindfoot (FF/HF) dorsiflexion (DF) increased in FW, while hallux relative to forefoot (HX/FF) DF decreased. Increased peak eversion (EV) and peak external rotation (ER) in HF/TB were observed in FW with decreased peak supination (SP) in FF/HF. GRFs were increased significantly with walking speed. The peak values of the knee and ankle moments in the sagittal and frontal planes significantly increased during FW compared with SW and NW. Discussion Limited HF/TB and FF/HF motion of SW was likely compensated for increased HX/FF DF. Although small angle variation in HF/TB EV and FF/HF SP during FW may have profound effects for foot kinetics. Higher HF/TB ER contributed to the FF push-off the ground while the center of mass (COM) progresses forward in FW, therefore accompanied by higher FF/HF abduction in FW. Increased peak vertical GRF in FW may affected by decreased stance duration time, the biomechanical mechanism maybe the change in vertical COM height and increase leg stiffness. Walking speed changes accompanied with modulated sagittal plane ankle moments to alter the braking GRF during loading response. The findings of foot kinematics, GRFs, and lower limb joint moments among healthy males may set a reference to distinguish abnormal and pathological gait patterns.

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Magnitude and Spatial Distribution of Impact Intensity Under the Foot Relates to Initial Foot Contact Pattern

Journal of Applied Biomechanics ◽

10.1123/jab.2016-0206 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 33 (6) ◽

pp. 431-436 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Bastiaan Breine ◽

Philippe Malcolm ◽

Veerle Segers ◽

Joeri Gerlo ◽

Rud Derie ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Spatial Distribution ◽

Loading Rate ◽

Ground Reaction Forces ◽

Contact Pattern ◽

Intensity Measure ◽

Foot Kinematics ◽

Contact Patterns ◽

Reaction Forces ◽

Local Impact ◽

The Impact

In running, foot contact patterns (rear-, mid-, or forefoot contact) influence impact intensity and initial ankle and foot kinematics. The aim of the study was to compare impact intensity and its spatial distribution under the foot between different foot contact patterns. Forty-nine subjects ran at 3.2 m·s−1 over a level runway while ground reaction forces (GRF) and shoe-surface pressures were recorded and foot contact pattern was determined. A 4-zone footmask (forefoot, midfoot, medial and lateral rearfoot) assessed the spatial distribution of the vertical GRF under the foot. We calculated peak vertical instantaneous loading rate of the GRF (VILR) per foot zone as the impact intensity measure. Midfoot contact patterns were shown to have the lowest, and atypical rearfoot contact patterns the highest impact intensities, respectively. The greatest local impact intensity was mainly situated under the rear- and midfoot for the typical rearfoot contact patterns, under the midfoot for the atypical rearfoot contact patterns, and under the mid- and forefoot for the midfoot contact patterns. These findings indicate that different foot contact patterns could benefit from cushioning in different shoe zones.

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Multi-segment foot kinematics and ground reaction forces during gait of individuals with plantar fasciitis

Journal of Biomechanics ◽

10.1016/j.jbiomech.2014.06.003 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 47 (11) ◽

pp. 2571-2577 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Ryan Chang ◽

Pedro A. Rodrigues ◽

Richard E.A. Van Emmerik ◽

Joseph Hamill

Keyword(s):

Plantar Fasciitis ◽

Ground Reaction Forces ◽

Foot Kinematics ◽

Reaction Forces

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A Functional Evaluation of Prosthetic Foot Kinematics During Lower-Limb Amputee Gait

Prosthetics and Orthotics International ◽

10.1080/03093640600805134 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 213-223 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

H. Goujon ◽

X. Bonnet ◽

P. Sautreuil ◽

M. Maurisset ◽

L. Darmon ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ground Reaction Forces ◽

Functional Evaluation ◽

Foot Kinematics ◽

Amputation Level ◽

Prosthetic Foot ◽

Ankle Kinematics ◽

Reaction Forces ◽

Lower Limb Amputee ◽

Time Distance ◽

Prosthetic Feet

This paper reports on a functional evaluation of prosthetic feet based on gait analysis. The aim is to analyse prosthetic feet behaviour under loads applied during gait in order to quantify user benefits for each foot. Ten traumatic amputees (six trans-tibial and four trans-femoral) were tested using their own prosthetic foot. An original protocol is presented to calculate the forefoot kinematics together with the overall body kinematics and ground reaction forces during gait. In this work, sagittal motion of the prosthetic ankle and the forefoot, time-distance parameters and ground reaction forces were examined. It is shown that an analysis of not only trans-tibial but also trans-femoral amputees provides an insight in the performance of prosthetic feet. Symmetry and prosthetic propulsive force were proved to be mainly dependant on amputation level. In contrast, the flexion of the prosthetic forefoot and several time-distance parameters are highly influenced by foot design. Correlations show influential of foot and ankle kinematics on other parameters. These results suggest that prosthetic foot efficiency depends simultaneously on foot design and gait style. The evaluation, proposed in this article, associated to clinical examination should help to achieve the best prosthetic foot match to a patient.

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Foot Kinematics Differ Between Runners With and Without a History of Navicular Stress Fractures

Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine ◽

10.1177/2325967118767363 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 232596711876736 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

James Becker ◽

Stanley James ◽

Louis Osternig ◽

Li-Shan Chou

Keyword(s):

Range Of Motion ◽

Clinical Examination ◽

Plantar Flexion ◽

Control Group ◽

Ground Reaction Forces ◽

Foot Kinematics ◽

Foot Structure ◽

History Of ◽

Reaction Forces ◽

Rearfoot Eversion

Background: A navicular stress fracture (NSF) is a common and high-risk injury in distance runners. It is not clear whether there are differences in foot structure and function between runners who have and those who have not sustained an NSF. Purpose/Hypothesis: This study compared foot structure, range of motion, and biomechanics between runners with a history of unilateral NSFs and runners who had never sustained this injury. The hypothesis was that runners with a history of NSFs will have less dorsiflexion and subtalar range of motion in a clinical examination and greater rearfoot eversion and higher eversion velocity while running than either the noninvolved feet or healthy controls. Study Design: Cross-sectional study; Level of evidence, 3. Methods: Seven runners who sustained an NSF were matched with 7 controls without this injury history. Participants underwent a clinical orthopaedic examination, followed by a 3-dimensional running gait analysis. Clinical examination variables, foot kinematics, and ground-reaction forces were compared between injured and noninjured feet within the NSF group and between the NSF group and control group. Results: The NSF group demonstrated less plantar flexion on the clinical examination than the control group ( P = .034, effect size [ES] = 0.69). The involved feet of the NSF group demonstrated greater rearfoot eversion excursion, greater eversion velocity, and reduced forefoot abduction excursion than either the noninvolved feet of the NSF group ( P = .015, ES = 1.73; P = .015, ES = 1.86; and P = .015, ES = 0.96, respectively) or the control group ( P = .012, ES = 1.40; P = .016, ES = 0.49; and P = .005, ES = 1.60, respectively). Conclusion: There are differences in foot kinematics but not ground-reaction forces, foot structure, or passive range of motion between runners who have and those who have not sustained an NSF. Runners who demonstrate increased rearfoot eversion and reduced forefoot abduction during stance may be more at risk for developing NSFs.

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Running ground reaction forces across footwear conditions are predicted from the motion of two body mass components

Journal of Applied Physiology ◽

10.1152/japplphysiol.00925.2018 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 126 (5) ◽

pp. 1315-1325 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Andrew B. Udofa ◽

Kenneth P. Clark ◽

Laurence J. Ryan ◽

Peter G. Weyand

Keyword(s):

Ground Reaction Force ◽

Lower Limb ◽

Reaction Force ◽

Ground Reaction Forces ◽

Vertical Ground Reaction Force ◽

Time Patterns ◽

Foot Strike ◽

Reaction Forces ◽

Vertical Ground ◽

Force Time

Although running shoes alter foot-ground reaction forces, particularly during impact, how they do so is incompletely understood. Here, we hypothesized that footwear effects on running ground reaction force-time patterns can be accurately predicted from the motion of two components of the body’s mass (mb): the contacting lower-limb (m1 = 0.08mb) and the remainder (m2 = 0.92mb). Simultaneous motion and vertical ground reaction force-time data were acquired at 1,000 Hz from eight uninstructed subjects running on a force-instrumented treadmill at 4.0 and 7.0 m/s under four footwear conditions: barefoot, minimal sole, thin sole, and thick sole. Vertical ground reaction force-time patterns were generated from the two-mass model using body mass and footfall-specific measures of contact time, aerial time, and lower-limb impact deceleration. Model force-time patterns generated using the empirical inputs acquired for each footfall matched the measured patterns closely across the four footwear conditions at both protocol speeds ( r2 = 0.96 ± 0.004; root mean squared error = 0.17 ± 0.01 body-weight units; n = 275 total footfalls). Foot landing angles (θF) were inversely related to footwear thickness; more positive or plantar-flexed landing angles coincided with longer-impact durations and force-time patterns lacking distinct rising-edge force peaks. Our results support three conclusions: 1) running ground reaction force-time patterns across footwear conditions can be accurately predicted using our two-mass, two-impulse model, 2) impact forces, regardless of foot strike mechanics, can be accurately quantified from lower-limb motion and a fixed anatomical mass (0.08mb), and 3) runners maintain similar loading rates (ΔFvertical/Δtime) across footwear conditions by altering foot strike angle to regulate the duration of impact. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Here, we validate a two-mass, two-impulse model of running vertical ground reaction forces across four footwear thickness conditions (barefoot, minimal, thin, thick). Our model allows the impact portion of the impulse to be extracted from measured total ground reaction force-time patterns using motion data from the ankle. The gait adjustments observed across footwear conditions revealed that runners maintained similar loading rates across footwear conditions by altering foot strike angles to regulate the duration of impact.

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Estimation of Ground Reaction Forces Based on Knee Joint Acceleration of Lower-Limb Exoskeletons

2020 International Automatic Control Conference (CACS) ◽

10.1109/cacs50047.2020.9289732 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Tesheng Hsiao ◽

Kinglam Yip ◽

Yun-Jen Chiu

Keyword(s):

Knee Joint ◽

Lower Limb ◽

Ground Reaction Forces ◽

Reaction Forces ◽

Joint Acceleration

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Ground Reaction Forces of Dressage Horses Performing the Piaffe

Animals ◽

10.3390/ani11020436 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 436 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Hilary Mary Clayton ◽

Sarah Jane Hobbs

Keyword(s):

Coefficient Of Variation ◽

Three Dimensional ◽

Individual Variability ◽

The Other ◽

Ground Reaction Forces ◽

High Coefficient ◽

Reaction Forces

The piaffe is an artificial, diagonally coordinated movement performed in the highest levels of dressage competition. The ground reaction forces (GRFs) of horses performing the piaffe do not appear to have been reported. Therefore, the objective of this study was to describe three-dimensional GRFs in ridden dressage horses performing the piaffe. In-ground force plates were used to capture fore and hindlimb GRF data from seven well-trained dressage horses. Peak vertical GRF was significantly higher in forelimbs than in the hindlimbs (7.39 ± 0.99 N/kg vs. 6.41 ± 0.64 N/kg; p < 0.001) with vertical impulse showing a trend toward higher forelimb values. Peak longitudinal forces were small with no difference in the magnitude of braking or propulsive forces between fore and hindlimbs. Peak transverse forces were similar in magnitude to longitudinal forces and were mostly directed medially in the hindlimbs. Both the intra- and inter-individual variability of longitudinal and transverse GRFs were high (coefficient of variation 25–68%). Compared with the other diagonal gaits of dressage horses, the vertical GRF somewhat shifted toward the hindlimbs. The high step-to-step variability of the horizontal GRF components is thought to reflect the challenge of balancing on one diagonal pair of limbs with no forward momentum.

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