Application of Zebris dynamometric platform and Arch Index in assessment of the longitudinal arch of the foot

Trend Change Analysis as a New Tool to Complement the Evaluation of Human Body Balance in the Time and Frequency Domains

Trend change analysis is a tool that complements the assessment of human body stability and provides information on the number and frequency of postural corrections during an examination. The present research aims to determine the possibility of using this method of analysis to investigate postural stability during tests of standing with open eyes (OE) and closed eyes (CE). A total of 118 participants (67 females, 51males) aged 23 (SD 1.3) were assessed. Tests involved standing on a stabilographic platform for 50 s. Trend change analysis was used to evaluate displacement values of the center of pressure (COP). Values for the COP courses as well as values associated with trend change analysis, such as: TCI, MACD_t and MACD_V were determined. Histograms of distribution were plotted for TCI values. The present study provides information on alterations of the strategy used for maintaining balance, which are associated with the number of postural corrections and COP displacement between corrections for measurements taken during the standing test with CE in relation to OE measurements. The strategy demonstrated an ability to detect a smaller number of quick corrections, an increased number of corrections of longer duration, and the elongation of displacement between subsequent postural corrections. Slight standard deviations in TCI and MACD_t values calculated during trend change analysis, for both the OE and CE conditions, made it possible to classify these values as indexes of postural stability with significant sensitivity to slight changes.

The influence of myofascial release on pain and selected indicators of flat foot in adults: a controlled randomized trial

Flat foot pain is a common complaint that requires therapeutic intervention. Currently, myofascial release techniques are often used in the therapy of musculoskeletal disorders. A group of 60 people suffering from flat feet with associated pain. Patients were assigned to four groups (15 people each): MF-myofascial release, E-the exercise program, MFE-myofascial release and the exercise program, C-no intervention. The rehabilitation program lasted 4 weeks. The NRS scale was used to examine pain intensity and FreeMed ground reaction force platform was used to examine selected static and dynamic foot indicators. Statistically significant pain reduction was obtained in all research. A static test of foot load distribution produced statistically significant changes only for selected indicators. In the dynamic test, statistically significant changes were observed for selected indicators, only in the groups subjected to therapeutic intervention. Most such changes were observed in the MF group. In the dynamic test which assessed the support phase of the foot, statistically significant changes were observed only for selected subphases. Most such changes were observed in the MFE group. Both exercise and exercise combined with myofascial release techniques, and especially myofascial release techniques alone, significantly reduce pain in a flat foot. This study shows a limited influence of both exercises and myofascial release techniques on selected static and dynamic indicators of a flat foot.

Analysis of the Stability of the Body in a Standing Position When Shooting at a Stationary Target-A Randomized Controlled Trial

Postural stability of the body depends on many factors. One of them is physical activity. It is especially important in the case of sports or professional work, which combine mobility with the accuracy of a shot in a standing position. The smaller the body fatigue, the more accurate the shot. The aim of the study was the assessment of the impact of physical effort on the center of gravity deflection and length of the COP (center of pressure) path, as well as the reaction of ground forces in people who do not engage in systematic physical activity. The study group included 139 people (23.1 ± 5.2 yr; M: 46.8%; F: 53.2%). The test consisted of performing a static test twice, shooting at the target in a multimedia shooting range. Group X performed the Harvard test between the static tests. Group Y made no effort. The reaction parameters of the ground forces were assessed using the Zebris PDM-L Platform. In Group X performing the Harvard test, an increase in the average COP, VCOP, and 95% confidence ellipse area was noted. The path length and the average velocity of COP speed increased. There were no differences in Group Y (p > 0.05). Physical effort significantly affected the postural stability of the studied people, increasing the average parameters assessing balance when adopting static firing position.

A New Automatic Foot Arch Index Measurement Method Based on a Flexible Membrane Pressure Sensor

The foot arch index is an important index to evaluate the health of human feet and the biomechanics line, aiming at addressing the shortcomings of the low efficiency and slow speed of manual foot arch index measurement; in this work, an automatic foot arch index measurement method based on a flexible membrane pressure sensor was proposed. The distribution of plantar pressure data was obtained from the flexible membrane pressure sensor and converted into a digital image. The 8-neighborhood correlation pixel method was proposed to remove the interference of isolated noise points. In order to remove the toes’ data without affecting the foot sole data, the row element association algorithm was proposed. The front and back endpoints of the foot were automatically located to obtain the foot length, and the foot arch index was also automatically obtained based on the foot arch pressure area. Whether it was a high arch foot, flat foot or normal foot, the method proposed in this paper could accurately and quickly distinguish them. The prototype was developed, and its feasibility and validity were verified by a series of tests.