Lower leg swelling and muscle co-contraction during prolonged standing: an unstable footwear evaluation
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The purpose of this study was to investigate the lower leg swelling and muscle co-contraction during prolonged standing with the focus on unstable footwear effects. The EMG signals of medial gastrocnemius and tibialis anterior muscles (bilaterally) were continuously recorded to quantify their co-contraction index (CCI) in 10 healthy asymptomatic subjects during two hours of standing in three footwear conditions including barefoot, stable shoe and unstable shoe. Lower leg circumference changes (swelling) were also monitored over the standing time. During two hours of standing remarkable reduction in lower leg circumference changes and significant reduced CCI level for both legs were observed only for unstable shoe compared to barefoot condition. However, bilaterally, no significant differences were found for both measures between barefoot condition and stable shoe or between two shoe conditions (stable and unstable). The unstable shoe produced changes in activity pattern of lower leg muscles which seems to be advantageous for venous pump mechanism during prolonged standing. These findings suggest that unstable footwear can be used as ergonomic intervention for prolonged standing during work or daily activities.Keywords:
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AbstractIntroduction: Barefoot running is not a new concept, but relatively few people choose to engage in barefoot running on a regular basis. Despite the technological developments in modern running footwear, as many as 79% of runners are injured every year. Although benefits of barefoot running have been proposed, there are also potential risks associated with it. Objective: To review the evidence-based literature concerning barefoot/minimal footwear running and the implications for the practicing physician. Materials and Methods: Multiple publications were reviewed using an electronic search of databases such as Medline, Cinahl, Embase, PubMed, and Cochrane Database from inception until August 30, 2013 using the search terms barefoot running, barefoot running biomechanics, and shoe vs. barefoot running. Results: Ninety-six relevant articles were found. Most were reviews of biomechanical and kinematic studies. Analysis: There are notable differences in gait and other parameters between barefoot running and shoe running. Based on these findings and much anecdotal evidence, one could conclude that barefoot runners should have fewer injuries, better performance, or both. Several athletic shoe companies have designed running shoes that attempt to mimic the barefoot condition, and thus garner the purported benefits of barefoot running. Conclusion: Although there is no evidence that confirms or refutes improved performance and reduced injuries in barefoot runners, many of the claimed disadvantages to barefoot running are not supported by the literature. Nonetheless, it seems that barefoot running may be an acceptable training method for athletes and coaches, as it may minimize the risks of injury.Keywords: barefoot runningshoe runningbiomechanicsminimalistic shoesrunningView correction statement:Erratum
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Orthoses are often used for the treatment or prevention of injuries. The effect of orthoses on the activity of calf muscles such as the tibialis posterior (TP), flexor digitorum longus (FDL), and peroneus longus (PL) during running is unclear. The purpose of this study was to measure the muscle activity alteration of the TP, FDL, and PL when running with orthoses. Sixteen healthy men participated in this study. Fine-wire and surface electromyography (EMG) were used to measure the TP, FDL, and PL. Participants ran in three conditions: barefoot, footwear only, and footwear with orthoses. The EMG data of the muscles were measured in three successful running trials in each condition. Then, the EMG data from the stance phase of each running trial were used for analysis. The stance phase was further divided into the contact and propulsion phases based on the force plate data. Data from eight participants were used for final analysis because the EMG measurements were unsuccessful for the other eight. The results showed that the TP EMG activity significantly decreased in the orthosis condition in comparison to that in the barefoot condition in all phases. There were no significant differences between barefoot and footwear and footwear and orthosis conditions. No significant changes in the FDL and PL EMG activities were detected in any phase for any of the three conditions. Orthotic use reduces the TP EMG activity level while running, and this result may be beneficial for patients with injuries related to TP overactivity.
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Background: Barefoot running is slowly gaining a dedicated following. Proponents of barefoot running claim many benefits, such as improved performance and reduced injuries, whereas detractors warn of the imminent risks involved. Methods: Multiple publications were reviewed using key words. Results: A review of the literature uncovered many studies that have looked at the barefoot condition and found notable differences in gait and other parameters. These findings, along with much anecdotal information, can lead one to extrapolate that barefoot runners should have fewer injuries, better performance, or both. Several athletic shoe companies have designed running shoes that attempt to mimic the barefoot condition and, thus, garner the purported benefits of barefoot running. Conclusions: Although there is no evidence that either confirms or refutes improved performance and reduced injuries in barefoot runners, many of the claimed disadvantages to barefoot running are not supported by the literature. Nonetheless, it seems that barefoot running may be an acceptable training method for athletes and coaches who understand and can minimize the risks. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 101(3): 231–246, 2011)
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Walking barefoot is common in poorer developing countries which have large rural populations. Although high rates of foot injury could be expected among those who walk barefoot, walking barefoot as a risk factor for diabetic foot disease is rarely documented in the literature.Two preliminary clinical studies were undertaken to investigate whether there is a causal link between walking barefoot and diabetic foot ulcers. The first study investigated whether being barefoot was a factor in initiating foot ulceration. In the second study, 204 consecutive diabetic outpatients were studied to further investigate the association between diabetic foot disease and walking barefoot.In the first study, of the 75 consecutive diabetics admitted for foot ulceration of less than 4 weeks, 32 (42.4%) had foot ulcers resulting from injuries by sharp or hard objects. Of those injured, 27 (84%) were barefoot at the time of the injury. This suggested that walking barefoot is a risk factor for foot ulcers, and that using footwear has the potential to prevent foot ulcers. In the second study, the relative risk of foot ulcers among barefoot diabetics was 2.21 (95% CI 1.55 to 3.14) compared with those using some form of footwear. A history of foot ulcers was more frequent in the group who wore footwear less than 10 hours per day, compared with those who used footwear more than 10 hours. The prevalence of web space and nail infections was also higher in the group who wore footwear less than 10 hours per day, compared with those who used footwear for more than 10 hours.The data suggest that walking barefoot is a risk factor for diabetic foot disease. Thus, public health messages in developing countries with large rural populations who walk barefoot should strongly advise diabetics to use footwear for a greater part of the day. This may be overlook in literature originating from affluent countries where footwear use is the norm. Further studies are indicated to investigate potential associations between walking barefoot, rurality and cultural factors.
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It has been demonstrated that differentiation can be made between healthy runners and runners with achilles tendinitis based on the local course of the gait line (G) in walking barefoot. It is not, however, clear whether this differentiation is possible under running conditions and whether in addition the medial velocity component of the gait line (Vmed) must be taken into account. In 11 complaint-free [CO] and 10 runners with achilles tendinitis [AT], we determined G as well as Vmed (treadmill, v = 12km/h) with pressure-sensitive insoles (Pedar mobile, 50 Hz, 1 sensor/2cm2) barefoot and in various running shoes (neutral shoe, stability shoe, barefoot shoe and prototype for prevention of AT complaints). G was defined as the sum of the lateral and medial areas of the gait line in relation to the foot longitudinal axis normalized to the foot length2. Vmed quantified the maximum medial velocity of the gait line during the first 33% of the roll-over process. Statistically significant differences (p < 0.05) were found between the barefoot run and all shoe conditions for G in healthy runners. Moreover, significant differences for G were found in the barefoot run between CO and AT. No differences were found for Vmed between conditions or in group comparison (p > 0.05). It can be conclu-ded that G is a reasonable parameter for characterization of the barefoot roll-over process. The roll-over process under barefoot conditions differs considerably from the shod conditions. The additional determination of Vmed does not, however, permit further differentiation between the groups or the shoes, so that reliable differentiation between various running shoes is not possible.
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The surface electromyography (sEMG) is the noninvasive method which can record and measure the changes of local muscle activities. The sEMG's amplitude and frequence signal will change with muscular movement. sEMG application in present study on muscle fatigue is a reliable predictor of muscle functional level. The researches on the sEMG signals changes of limb muscles of hemiplegic patients will take a important role in providing scientific evidence for the neural rehabilitation training after stroke.
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Humans tend to increase their step frequency in barefoot walking, as compared to shod walking at the same speed. Based on prior studies and the energy minimization hypothesis we predicted that people make this adjustment to minimize metabolic cost. We performed an experiment quantifying barefoot walking metabolic rate at different step frequencies, specifically comparing preferred barefoot to preferred shod step frequency. We found that subjects increased their preferred frequency when walking barefoot at 1.4 m/s (~123 vs. ~117 steps/min shod, P = 2e-5). However, average barefoot walking metabolic rates at the preferred barefoot and shod step frequencies were not significantly different (P = 0.40). Instead, we observed subject-specific trends: five subjects consistently reduced (-8% average), and three subjects consistently increased (+10% average) their metabolic rate at preferred barefoot vs. preferred shod frequency. Thus, it does not appear that people ubiquitously select a barefoot step frequency that minimizes metabolic rate. We concluded that preferred barefoot step frequency is influenced by factors beyond minimizing metabolic rate, such as shoe properties and/or perceived comfort. Our results highlight the subject-specific nature of locomotor adaptations and how averaging data across subjects may obscure meaningful trends. Alternative experimental designs may be needed to better understand individual adaptations.
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