Effects of limb dominance on the symmetrical distribution of plantar loading during walking and running

Author(s):  
Zixiang Gao ◽  
Qichang Mei ◽  
Liangliang Xiang ◽  
Julien S Baker ◽  
Justin Fernandez ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study was to investigate the symmetry or asymmetry in the plantar pressure, foot axis angle and muscle mass of dominant and non-dominant legs. Sixty-eight able-bodied participants (age: 20 ± 1 years, height: 162 ± 8 cm, mass: 53 ± 7 kg, BMI: 20.63 ± 2 kg/m2) were recruited for the walking and running tests. All participants with right dominant feet, defined as the preferred leg when kicking a ball, were asked to perform four successful trials at their self-selected walking and running speeds after warm-up. FootScan force-measuring plate was utilized to collect plantar pressure and foot axis angle. The Tanita Segmental Body Composition Analyzer was used to measure the muscle mass of the lower limbs. The time-series parameters were checked using an open-source statistical parametric mapping 1d package. The result exhibited that the medial foot pressure of the dominant limb was higher than the non-dominant limb ( p < 0.05). Foot balance index range showed asymmetry in both walking and running tasks (absolute symmetry index <10%). There was no significant difference in muscle mass between the dominant and non-dominant lower limbs ( p = 0.79). The quantification of potential differences and asymmetries could provide implications for gait injury prevention and shoe design.

Author(s):  
S Taherzadeh ◽  
MS Ghasemi ◽  
H Saeedi ◽  
H Dehghan ◽  
Z Rahimi Khalifa Kennedy

Introduction: Many occupations require prolonged standing during exercise, which is one of the most important causes of musculoskeletal disorders, causing pain and discomfort in the back, lower limbs, and especially the soles of the feet, resulting in improper distribution of pressure in the soles of the feet. Epidemiological studies also show a strong association between prolonged standing and pressure on the lower back and lower limbs. One of the ergonomic solutions to reduce the problems caused by long-standing activities is to correct the surface under the fee. Therefore, this study investigates the effect of ergonomic flooring and conventional flooring on the distribution of foot pressure in healthy individuals; based on that, the effect of using ergonomic flooring in comparison with conventional flooring, more appropriate distribution, and reduction of pressure in the sole can be determined. Materials and Methods: This descriptive-analytical study was performed on 16 students with a mean age of 27.87±7.31 and a body mass index of 24.15±4.31. According to previous comparative studies and data analysis obtained from pilot samples, by considering the 95% confidence interval, the samples were determined by the convenience sampling method. Each participant was measured at eight anatomical points for one hour at two different surfaces of ergonomic and ordinary floor. Foot pressure distribution using a pedar-x device while the volunteers were barefoot. Data were analyzed by paired t-test and Wilcoxon using SPSS software. Results: This study showed that the ergonomic flooring significantly reduced the mean pressure on the plantar pressure (p≤0.001). Also, there is a significant difference in the mean pressure of left and right legs in different anatomical points when using ordinary surfaces and flooring (p≤0.001). Conclusion: There is a difference between the distribution of plantar pressure in ergonomic flooring and conventional flooring. Ergonomic flooring has better distribution than the ground and reduces the pressure on the sole during static activities.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicola Veronese ◽  
Sinisa Stefanac ◽  
Ai Koyanagi ◽  
Nasser M. Al-Daghri ◽  
Shaun Sabico ◽  
...  

Recent literature suggests that sarcopenia, often represented by low lower limbs muscle mass and strength, can be considered a potential risk factor for knee osteoarthritis (OA), but the available literature is still limited. We therefore aimed to investigate whether sarcopenia is associated with a higher risk of radiographic (ROA) and symptomatic knee OA (SxOA) in a large cohort of North American people in the context of the OA initiative. Sarcopenia at baseline was diagnosed in case of low skeletal muscle mass (i.e., lower skeletal mass index) and poor performance in the chair stands test. The outcomes of interest for this study included ROA (radiographical osteoarthritis) if a knee developed a Kellgren and Lawrence (KL) grade ≥2 at follow-up, and SxOA (symptomatic osteoarthritis) defined as new onset of a combination of painful knee OA. Altogether, 2,492 older participants (mean age: 68.4 years, 61.4% females) were included. At baseline, sarcopenia was present in 6.1% of the population. No significant difference in ROA prevalence was observed between those with and without sarcopenia (p=0.76), whilst people with sarcopenia reported a significant higher prevalence of SxOA (p&lt;0.0001). Using a logistic regression analysis, adjusting for potential confounders at baseline and the diagnosis of sarcopenia during follow-up, sarcopenia was associated with a higher incidence of knee SxOA (odds ratio, OR=2.29; 95%CI [confidence interval]: 1.42-3.71; p=0.001), but not knee ROA (OR=1.48; 95%CI: 0.53-4.10; p=0.45). In conclusion, sarcopenia could be associated with a higher risk of negative knee OA outcomes, in particular symptomatic forms.


2013 ◽  
Vol 694-697 ◽  
pp. 3063-3066 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guo Qiang Li ◽  
Hao Chen ◽  
Jiang Guo Zhang

The purpose of this study was to investigate plantar pressure of male adults under different sing-shoulder weight during walking. Experiments were conducted at single-shoulder load styles in four different weight conditions by three-dimension force platform system. Four weight conditions were 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% of body weight. Seven characteristic parameters were selected and analyzed by statistical methods. The results showed a significant difference for the male subjects at 13% of body weight loads comparing with natural walk. Ground reaction force was employed to analyze human movement. This study was designed to obtain the data of foot pressure, which was important to the balance of control of biped robot.


2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 15-16
Author(s):  
Tatsuro Tamura ◽  
Katsunobu Sakurai ◽  
Takahiro Toyokawa ◽  
Naoshi Kubo ◽  
Ryosuke Amano ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Exact measurement of muscle mass is enabled by body composition analyzer, and it is reported that a body composition affects the perioperative outcomes. In this study, we investigated the relationship between depletion of preoperative muscle mass (sarcopenia) and postoperative outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer treated esophagectomy. Methods A total 58 esophageal cancer patients who underwent esophagectomy between January 2014 and January 2018 were enrolled. Preoperative muscle mass was evaluated by InBody-3.0 and S-10 which is body composition analyzer and expressed as muscle mass index; MMI (kg/m2) by dividing the muscle mass by the height in meters squared. The cut off values of MMI were the gender-specific lowest 20%, and we defined low MMI as sarcopenia. Postoperative complications were graded according to the Clavien-Dindo classification, univariate and multivariate analysis were performed for postoperative pneumonia. About the pneumonia, we defined that invasive shadow was observed by X-ray or CT and bacteria detected by sputum culture. Results By the definition of sarcopenia in this study, sarcopenia was determined in 11 patients (19%). Sarcopenia was significantly correlated with lower body weight (P < 0.001), lower body mass index (P < 0.001), the VC% (P = 0.0178). In other factors, there is no significant difference between sarcopenia and non-sarcopenia groups. Compared with non-sarcopenic patients, sarcopenic patients had a higher risk of postoperative pneumonia and chylothorax (P = 0.0144 and P = 0.0105). For other complications, the differences were not significant. In univariate analysis, sarcopenia (P = 0.0144), hypoalbuminemia (P = 0.0236), operative blood loss (P = 0.0436) were associated with postoperative pneumonia. Multivariate analysis revealed that sarcopenia (P < 0.001) and longer operation time (P = 0.0354) were independent predictors of postoperative pneumonia. Conclusion Preoperative sarcopenia was identified as independent risk factor for postoperative pneumonia after esophagectomy. Preoperative nutrition and rehabilitation therapy may contribute to the prevention of pneumonia after surgery. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.


2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Muhammad Haidar bin Nasuruddin ◽  
Aminudin bin Che Ahmad ◽  
Mohd Adham Syah bin Ayeop ◽  
Nik Mohd. Fatmy Bin Nik Mohd. Najmi

Introduction: Plantar foot pressure has been widely used in managing foot-related disease in developed countries for the past 2 decades. However, in Malaysia, it is still at its infancy. Studies showed that the normal values are not affected by gender and body mass index (BMI), but vary between one race to another. Currently, to the best of author’s review, there is no standard value available for Malaysian or Southeast Asia population. This study is designed to measure pressure values observed in the normal foot of Malay population in Kuantan and its difference between different gender and BMI. Materials and Methods: Measurements were taken from 184 healthy subjects, 79 males and 105 females. Age and BMI were identified. Plantar pressures were measured using Emed-q100 pedobarography platform device with its emed/E (Expert) software Results: The median plantar pressure was 480kPa (IQR 205). There was no significant difference between genders (p=0.483) and BMI (p=0.076) Conclusion: This result is not meant to represent the whole Malay population but rather to be used as an early reference for plantar pressure studies among Malay population. More studies are needed to more accurately describe the value of the population.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 16
Author(s):  
Kara B. Bellenfant ◽  
Gracie L. Robbins ◽  
Rebecca R. Rogers ◽  
Thomas J. Kopec ◽  
Christopher G. Ballmann

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of how limb dominance and joint immobilization alter markers of physical demand and muscle activation during ambulation with axillary crutches. In a crossover, counterbalanced study design, physically active females completed ambulation trials with three conditions: (1) bipedal walking (BW), (2) axillary crutch ambulation with their dominant limb (DOM), and (3) axillary crutch ambulation with their nondominant limb (NDOM). During the axillary crutch ambulation conditions, the non-weight-bearing knee joint was immobilized at a 30-degree flexion angle with a postoperative knee stabilizer. For each trial/condition, participants ambulated at 0.6, 0.8, and 1.0 mph for five minutes at each speed. Heart rate (HR) and rate of perceived exertion (RPE) were monitored throughout. Surface electromyography (sEMG) was used to record muscle activation of the medial gastrocnemius (MG), soleus (SOL), and tibialis anterior (TA) unilaterally on the weight-bearing limb. Biceps brachii (BB) and triceps brachii (TB) sEMG were measured bilaterally. sEMG signals for each immobilization condition were normalized to corresponding values for BW.HR (p < 0.001) and RPE (p < 0.001) were significantly higher for both the DOM and NDOM conditions compared to BW but no differences existed between the DOM and NDOM conditions (p > 0.05). No differences in lower limb muscle activation were noted for any muscles between the DOM and NDOM conditions (p > 0.05). Regardless of condition, BB activation ipsilateral to the ambulating limb was significantly lower during 0.6 mph (p = 0.005) and 0.8 mph (p = 0.016) compared to the same speeds for BB on the contralateral side. Contralateral TB activation was significantly higher during 0.6 mph compared to 0.8 mph (p = 0.009) and 1.0 mph (p = 0.029) irrespective of condition. In conclusion, limb dominance appears to not alter lower limb muscle activation and walking intensity while using axillary crutches. However, upper limb muscle activation was asymmetrical during axillary crutch use and largely dependent on speed. These results suggest that functional asymmetry may exist in upper limbs but not lower limbs during assistive device supported ambulation.


Author(s):  
Javier Raya-González ◽  
Filipe Manuel Clemente ◽  
Daniel Castillo

Although asymmetries in lower limbs have been linked with players’ performance in male soccer players, literature that has been published addressing female soccer is scarce. Thus, the aim of this study was twofold: (i) describe the asymmetries of women soccer players during jumping, change-of-direction and range-of-motion tests; and (ii) test possible relationships between asymmetries and injury risk in female soccer players. Sixteen female players (15.5 ± 1.5 years) performed a battery of fitness tests (i.e., jump ability, change-of-direction ability and passive range-of-motion) and muscle mass analysis via dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry, through which the specific asymmetry index and the related injury risk were calculated. Significant (p < 0.05) lower asymmetries in the change-of-direction test were observed in comparison to those observed in jumping and range-of-motion tests; significant (p < 0.05) lower asymmetries in muscle mass were also reported compared to those found in the change-of-direction and countermovement jump tests. Additionally, increased injury risk for countermovement jump and hip flexion with extended knee range-of-motion (relating to asymmetry values) and for ankle flexion with flexed knee range-of-motion in both legs (relating to reference range-of-motion values), as well as increased individual injury risk values, were observed across all tests. These findings suggest the necessity to implement individual approaches for asymmetry and injury risk analyses.


Author(s):  
Lucas Sousa Macedo ◽  
Renato Polese Rusig ◽  
Gustavo Bersani Silva ◽  
Alvaro Baik Cho ◽  
Teng Hsiang Wei ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: Microsurgical flaps are widely used to treat complex traumatic wounds of upper and lower limbs. Few studies have evaluated whether the vascular changes in preoperative computed tomography angiography (CTA) influence the selection of recipient vessel and type of anastomosis and the microsurgical flaps outcomes including complications. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate if preoperative CTA reduces the occurrence of major complications (revision of the anastomosis, partial or total flap failure, and amputation) of the flaps in upper and lower limb trauma, and to describe and analyze the vascular lesions of the group with CTA and its relationship with complications. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was undertaken with all 121 consecutive patients submitted to microsurgical flaps for traumatic lower and upper limb, from 2014 to 2020. Patients were divided into two groups: patients with preoperative CTA (CTA+) and patients not submitted to CTA (CTA–). The presence of postoperative complications was assessed and, within CTA+, we also analyzed the number of patent arteries on CTA and described the arterial lesions. RESULTS: Of the 121 flaps evaluated (84 in the lower limb and 37 in the upper limb), 64 patients underwent preoperative CTA. In the CTA+ group, 56% of patients with free flaps for lower limb had complete occlusion of one artery. CTA+ patients had a higher rate of complications (p = 0.031), which may represent a selection bias as the most complex limb injuries and may have CTA indicated more frequently. The highest rate of complications was observed in chronic cases (p = 0.034). There was no statistically significant difference in complications in patients with preoperative vascular injury or the number of patent arteries. CONCLUSIONS: CTA should not be performed routinely, however, CTA may help in surgical planning, especially in complex cases of high-energy and chronic cases, since it provides information on the best recipient artery and the adequate level to perform the microanastomosis, outside the lesion area.


Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (4) ◽  
pp. 1450
Author(s):  
Alfredo Ciniglio ◽  
Annamaria Guiotto ◽  
Fabiola Spolaor ◽  
Zimi Sawacha

The quantification of plantar pressure distribution is widely done in the diagnosis of lower limbs deformities, gait analysis, footwear design, and sport applications. To date, a number of pressure insole layouts have been proposed, with different configurations according to their applications. The goal of this study is to assess the validity of a 16-sensors (1.5 × 1.5 cm) pressure insole to detect plantar pressure distribution during different tasks in the clinic and sport domains. The data of 39 healthy adults, acquired with a Pedar-X® system (Novel GmbH, Munich, Germany) during walking, weight lifting, and drop landing, were used to simulate the insole. The sensors were distributed by considering the location of the peak pressure on all trials: 4 on the hindfoot, 3 on the midfoot, and 9 on the forefoot. The following variables were computed with both systems and compared by estimating the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE): Peak/Mean Pressure, Ground Reaction Force (GRF), Center of Pressure (COP), the distance between COP and the origin, the Contact Area. The lowest (0.61%) and highest (82.4%) RMSE values were detected during gait on the medial-lateral COP and the GRF, respectively. This approach could be used for testing different layouts on various applications prior to production.


Author(s):  
Tae-Whan Kim ◽  
Jae-Won Lee ◽  
Seoung-Ki Kang ◽  
Kyu-Yeon Chae ◽  
Sang-Hyup Choi ◽  
...  

The purpose of this study is to compare and analyze the kinematic characteristics of the upper limb segments during the archery shooting of Paralympic Wheelchair Class archers (ARW2—second wheelchair class—paraplegia or comparable disability) and Paralympic Standing Class archers (ARST—standing archery class—loss of 25 points in the upper limbs or lower limbs), where archers are classified according to their disability grade among elite disabled archers. The participants of this study were selected as seven elite athletes with disabilities by the ARW2 (n = 4) and ARST (n = 3). The analysis variables were (1) the time required for each phase, (2) the angle of inclination of the body center, (3) the change of trajectory of body center, and (4) the change of the movement trajectory of the bow center by phase when performing six shots in total. The ARW2 group (drawing phase; M = 2.228 s, p < 0.05, holding phase; M = 4.414 s, p < 0.05) showed a longer time than the ARST group (drawing phase; M = 0.985 s, holding phase; M = 3.042 s), and the angle of the body did not show a significant difference between the two groups. Additionally, in the direction of the anteroposterior axis in the drawing phase, the change in the movement trajectory of the body center showed a more significant amount of change in the ARW2 group than in the ARST group, and the change in the movement trajectory of the bow center did not show a significant difference between the two groups.


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