Rollover footwear affects lower limb biomechanics during walking

Forghany, S; Nester, CJ; Richards, B; Hatton, AL; Liu, A

Abstract

Aim
To investigate the effect of rollover footwear on walking speed, metabolic cost of gait, lower limb kinematics, kinetics, EMG muscle activity and plantar pressure.

Methods
Twenty subjects (mean age-33.1 years, height-1.71 m, body mass-68.9 kg, BMI 23.6, 12 male) walked in: a flat control footwear; a flat control footwear weighted to match the mass of a rollover shoe; a rollover shoe; MBT footwear. Data relating to metabolic energy and temporal aspects of gait were collected during 6 min of continuous walking, all other data in a gait laboratory.

Results
The rollover footwear moved the contact point under the shoe anteriorly during early stance, increasing midfoot pressures. This changed internal ankle dorsiflexion moments to plantarflexion moments earlier, reducing ankle plantarflexion and tibialis anterior activity after initial contact, and increasing calf EMG activity. In mid stance the rollover footwear resulted in a more dorsiflexed ankle position but less ankle movement. During propulsion, the rollover footwear reduced peak ankle dorsiflexion, peak internal plantarflexor ankle moments and the range of ankle plantarflexion. Vertical ground reaction loading rates were increased by the rollover footwear. There were no effects on temporal or energy cost of gait and no effect of elevated shoe weight.

Conclusion
Investigating all proposed effects of this footwear concurrently has enabled a more valid investigation of how the footwear effects are interrelated. There were concurrent changes in several aspects of lower limb function, with greatest effects at the foot and ankle, but no change in the metabolic cost of walking.

Citation

Forghany, S., Nester, C., Richards, B., Hatton, A., & Liu, A. (2014). Rollover footwear affects lower limb biomechanics during walking. Gait & Posture, 39(1), 205-212. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2013.07.009

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 8, 2013
• Online Publication Date: Aug 2, 2013
• Publication Date: Jan 1, 2014
• Deposit Date: May 1, 2014
• Journal: Gait & Posture
• Print ISSN: 0966-6362
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 39
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 205-212
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2013.07.009
• Keywords: Rollover footwear, Kinematics, Kinetics, Electromyography, Metabolic energy cost
• Publisher URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gaitpost.2013.07.009
• Related Public URLs: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/gait-and-posture/