Plantar load characteristics among runners with different strike patterns during preferred speed

Acute effects of athletic taping on arch deformity and plantar pressure in young female adults with flexible flatfoot

OBJECTIVE

This work aimed to explore the acute effects of athletic taping techniques on foot arch deformity and plantar pressure in young female adults with flexible flatfoot (FFT).

METHODS

Twenty young female adults with FFT were recruited in the current study. Each participant was randomly divided into two taping groups, namely, augmented low-dye (ALD) and modified low-dye (MLD). The foot arch deformity and plantar pressure were measured at baseline, after taping and after 20 min of walking. The foot arch deformity was determined based on navicular drop distance (NDD) and resting calcaneal stance position (RCSP).

RESULTS

Compared with baseline, the NDD values were significantly lower after taping. After 20 min of walking, ALD taping resulted in a lower NDD value than MLD (p < 0.001). ALD maintained a higher RCSP than baseline after 20 min of walking (p = 0.004). Furthermore, compared with baseline, medial midfoot force-time integration (p = 0.013) and contact area (p = 0.022) increased after taping with MLD, and peak pressure in the medial midfoot increased after walking for 20 min with MLD (p = 0.026). Peak pressure in the second to fifth toes significantly decreased after 20 min of walking with ALD compared with that after taping immediately (p = 0.002).

CONCLUSIONS

ALD and MLD taping could improve FFT arch deformity and plantar pressure distribution, prospectively changing peak pressure of the second to fifth toe area and medial midfoot after 20 min of walking, integrated contact area and force-time integration medial midfoot during walking in young female adults. Furthermore, ALD taping could improve FFT deformity more than using MLD after 20 min of walking. Thus, when treating FFT in young female adults, ALD taping should be considered adaptively to guide arch support production and correct midfoot pronation.

Comparison of intrinsic foot muscle morphology and isometric strength among runners with different strike patterns

This study aimed to compare the intrinsic foot muscle (IFM) morphology and isometric strength among runners with habitual rearfoot strike (RFS) and non-rearfoot strike (NRFS) patterns. A total of 70 recreational male runners were included in this study (32 RFS and 38 NRFS), an ultrasound device and hand-held dynamometry were used to measure IFM morphology and isometric strength. Results indicated that the RFS runners had significantly thicker tibialis anterior (P = 0.01, ES = 0.64, 95% CI [0.01-0.07]) in IFMs morphology and higher Toe2345 flexion strength in IFMs strength (P = 0.04, ES = 0.50, 95% CI [0.01-0.27]) than NRFS runners, the cross-sectional area of flexor digitorum brevis was positively correlated with T2345 flexion strength (r = 0.33, p = 0.04), T12345 (r = 0.37, p = 0.02) and Doming (r = 0.36, p = 0.03) for runners with NRFS. IFMs morphology and isometric strength were associated with foot strike pattern, preliminary findings provide new perspectives for NRFS runners through the simple measurement of IFMs morphological characteristics predicting IFMs strength, future studies could adopt IFMs training to compensate the muscle strength defects and prevent foot-related injuries.

Wearables for Running Gait Analysis: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Running gait assessment has traditionally been performed using subjective observation or expensive laboratory-based objective technologies, such as three-dimensional motion capture or force plates. However, recent developments in wearable devices allow for continuous monitoring and analysis of running mechanics in any environment. Objective measurement of running gait is an important (clinical) tool for injury assessment and provides measures that can be used to enhance performance.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to systematically review the available literature investigating how wearable technology is being used for running gait analysis in adults.

METHODS

A systematic search of the literature was conducted in the following scientific databases: PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science and SPORTDiscus. Information was extracted from each included article regarding the type of study, participants, protocol, wearable device(s), main outcomes/measures, analysis and key findings.

RESULTS

A total of 131 articles were reviewed: 56 investigated the validity of wearable technology, 22 examined the reliability and 77 focused on applied use. Most studies used inertial measurement units (n = 62) [i.e. a combination of accelerometers, gyroscopes and magnetometers in a single unit] or solely accelerometers (n = 40), with one using gyroscopes alone and 31 using pressure sensors. On average, studies used one wearable device to examine running gait. Wearable locations were distributed among the shank, shoe and waist. The mean number of participants was 26 (± 27), with an average age of 28.3 (± 7.0) years. Most studies took place indoors (n = 93), using a treadmill (n = 62), with the main aims seeking to identify running gait outcomes or investigate the effects of injury, fatigue, intrinsic factors (e.g. age, sex, morphology) or footwear on running gait outcomes. Generally, wearables were found to be valid and reliable tools for assessing running gait compared to reference standards.

CONCLUSIONS

This comprehensive review highlighted that most studies that have examined running gait using wearable sensors have done so with young adult recreational runners, using one inertial measurement unit sensor, with participants running on a treadmill and reporting outcomes of ground contact time, stride length, stride frequency and tibial acceleration. Future studies are required to obtain consensus regarding terminology, protocols for testing validity and the reliability of devices and suitability of gait outcomes.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

CRD42021235527.

Validity and reliability of inertial measurement units measurements for running kinematics in different foot strike pattern runners

This study aimed to assess the validity and reliability of the three-dimensional joint kinematic outcomes obtained by the inertial measurement units (IMUs) for runners with rearfoot strike pattern (RFS) and non-rearfoot strike pattern (NRFS). The IMUs system and optical motion capture system were used to simultaneous collect 3D kinematic of lower extremity joint data from participants running at 12 km/h. The joint angle waveforms showed a high correlation between the two systems after the offset correction in the sagittal plane (NRFS: coefficient of multiple correlation (CMC) = 0.924-0.968, root mean square error (RMSE) = 4.6^°-13.7^°; RFS: CMC = 0.930-0.965, RMSE = 3.1^°-7.7^°), but revealed high variability in the frontal and transverse planes (NRFS: CMC = 0.924-0.968, RMSE = 4.6°-13.7°; RFS: CMC = 0.930-0.965, RMSE = 3.1°-7.7°). The between-rater and between-day reliability were shown to be very good to excellent in the sagittal plane (between-rater: NRFS: CMC = 0.967-0.975, RMSE = 1.9°-2.9°, RFS: CMC = 0.922-0.989, RMSE = 1.0°-2.5°; between-day: NRFS: CMC = 0.950-0.978, RMSE = 1.6°-2.7°, RFS: CMC = 0.920-0.989, RMSE = 1.7°-2.2°), whereas the reliability was weak to very good (between-rater: NRFS: CMC = 0.480-0.947, RMSE = 1.1°-2.7°, RFS: CMC = 0.646-0.873, RMSE = 0.7°-2.4°; between-day: NRFS: CMC = 0.666-0.867, RMSE = 0.7°-2.8°, RFS: CMC = 0.321-0.805, RMSE = 0.9°-5.0°) in the frontal and transverse planes across all joints in both types of runners. The IMUs system was a feasible tool for measuring lower extremity joint kinematics in the sagittal plane during running, especially for RFS runners. However, the joint kinematics data in frontal and transverse planes derived by the IMUs system need to be used with caution.

The Use of Wearable Sensor Technology to Detect Shock Impacts in Sports and Occupational Settings: A Scoping Review

Shock impacts during activity may cause damage to the joints, muscles, bones, or inner organs. To define thresholds for tolerable impacts, there is a need for methods that can accurately monitor shock impacts in real-life settings. Therefore, the main aim of this scoping review was to present an overview of existing methods for assessments of shock impacts using wearable sensor technology within two domains: sports and occupational settings. Online databases were used to identify papers published in 2010-2020, from which we selected 34 papers that used wearable sensor technology to measure shock impacts. No studies were found on occupational settings. For the sports domain, accelerometry was the dominant type of wearable sensor technology utilized, interpreting peak acceleration as a proxy for impact. Of the included studies, 28 assessed foot strike in running, head impacts in invasion and team sports, or different forms of jump landings or plyometric movements. The included studies revealed a lack of consensus regarding sensor placement and interpretation of the results. Furthermore, the identified high proportion of validation studies support previous concerns that wearable sensors at present are inadequate as a stand-alone method for valid and accurate data on shock impacts in the field.

Smart Socks and In-Shoe Systems: State-of-the-Art for Two Popular Technologies for Foot Motion Analysis, Sports, and Medical Applications

The present paper reviews, for the first time, to the best of our knowledge, the most recent advances in research concerning two popular devices used for foot motion analysis and health monitoring: smart socks and in-shoe systems. The first one is representative of textile-based systems, whereas the second one is one of the most used pressure sensitive insole (PSI) systems that is used as an alternative to smart socks. The proposed methods are reviewed for smart sock use in special medical applications, for gait and foot pressure analysis. The Pedar system is also shown, together with studies of validation and repeatability for Pedar and other in-shoe systems. Then, the applications of Pedar are presented, mainly in medicine and sports. Our purpose was to offer the researchers in this field a useful means to overview and select relevant information. Moreover, our review can be a starting point for new, relevant research towards improving the design and functionality of the systems, as well as extending the research towards other areas of applications using sensors in smart textiles and in-shoe systems.