Abstract details

Abstract-ID: 1917
Title of the paper: Effects of walking with single-tooth sandals on tibialis anterior muscle activity
Authors: Kiyotaka Taga, Oi, N. Makino, A. Yasui, T. Kume, D. Nishiwaki, M.
Institution: Osaka Institute of Technology Graduate School
Department: Environmental and Biomedical Engineering, Osaka Institute of Technology
Country: Japan
Abstract text INTRODUCTION:
Recently, standing with single-tooth sandals has been known to decrease sole contact area due to special material and shape characteristics. Muscle activities during walking have been evaluated by using electromyography (EMG), and during the ground contact phase of walking, the activity of tibialis anterior muscle is strongly related to heel contact. However, the influences of walking with single-tooth sandals on muscle activities, such as tibialis anterior muscle, are now well unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of walking with single-tooth sandals on the activity of tibialis anterior muscle using EMG.
METHODS:
Fifteen healthy college students (22.8 ± 0.2 years), with EMG electrodes attached to the right tibialis anterior muscle, performed a total of four 2-minute walking conditions at two speeds (3 km/h and 5 km/h) on a treadmill with regular normal sandals (N conditions) or single-tooth sandals (Z conditions). After these walking, the maximum voluntary contraction of tibialis anterior muscle was measured for 5 s. The measured EMG data were filtered and the data after rectification were separated using signals obtained from a self-made foot sensor at each step using Python. The values of averaged EMG (aEMG) and integrated EMG (iEMG) during both one gait cycle and ground contact phase in each gait cycle were averaged for 1 min. Moreover, to analyze the differences in each phase in detail, one gait cycle was divided into 4 phases: Pre-ground phase (PG), Deceleration phase (D), Acceleration phase (A), and Swing phase (S), and each averaged EMG value was compared. Finally, all EMG data were expressed as a relative value to maximum voluntary contraction.
RESULTS:
When referring to the main effect of sandal conditions by two-way ANOVA, both aEMG (N vs. Z: 5.4 ± 0.6% vs. 4.3 ± 0.5%; P = 0.0221) and iEMG (N vs. Z: 1.6 ± 0.2% vs. 1.0 ± 0.1%; P < 0.001) of tibialis anterior muscle were significantly lower in the Z condition than in the N condition, especially in the ground contact phase. Significant reductions in EMG values between the N and Z conditions were observed in the PG phase (N vs. Z: 4.9 ± 0.5% vs. 3.9 ± 0.4%; P = 0.0013), D phase (N vs. Z: 6.4 ± 0.7% vs. 4.7 ± 0.5%; P = 0.0043), and S phase (N vs. Z: 7.2 ± 0.7% vs. 5.8 ± 0.6%; P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION:
These findings indicate that walking with single-tooth sandals may reduce activity levels of tibialis anterior muscle compared to that with regular normal sandals, suggesting that the style of ground contact during walking (i.e., heel or entire sole) may differ between N and Z conditions.
Topic: Biomechanics
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