Effects of different contact angles during forefoot running on the stresses of the foot bones: a finite element simulation study

Huiyu Zhou; Datao Xu; Wenjing Quan; Ukadike Chris Ugbolue; Yaodong Gu

doi:10.3389/fbioe.2024.1337540

Effects of different contact angles during forefoot running on the stresses of the foot bones: a finite element simulation study

Front Bioeng Biotechnol. 2024 Feb 8:12:1337540. doi: 10.3389/fbioe.2024.1337540. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Huiyu Zhou^{1

2}, Datao Xu^{1

3}, Wenjing Quan^{1

3}, Ukadike Chris Ugbolue², Yaodong Gu¹

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
² School of Health and Life Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, United Kingdom.
³ Faculty of Engineering, University of Pannonia, Veszprem, Hungary.

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to compare the changes in foot at different sole-ground contact angles during forefoot running. This study tried to help forefoot runners better control and improve their technical movements by comparing different sole-ground contact angles. Methods: A male participant of Chinese ethnicity was enlisted for the present study, with a recorded age of 25 years, a height of 183 cm, and a body weight of 80 kg. This study focused on forefoot strike patterns through FE analysis. Results: It can be seen that the peak von Mises stress of M1-5 (Metatarsal) of a (Contact angle: 9.54) is greater than that of b (Contact angle: 7.58) and c (Contact angle: 5.62) in the three cases. On the contrary, the peak von Mises stress of MC (Medial Cuneiform), IC (Intermediate Cuneiform), LC (Lateral Cuneiform), C (Cuboid), N (Navicular), T (Tarsal) in three different cases is opposite, and the peak von Mises stress of c is greater than that of a and b. The peak von Mises stress of b is between a and c. Conclusion: This study found that a reduced sole-ground contact angle may reduce metatarsal stress fractures. Further, a small sole-ground contact angle may not increase ankle joint injury risk during forefoot running. Hence, given the specialized nature of the running shoes designed for forefoot runners, it is plausible that this study may offer novel insights to guide their athletic pursuits.

Keywords: contact angle; finite elements; foot; foot injury; forefoot running.

Grants and funding

The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study was sponsored by the Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation of China for Distinguished Young Scholars (LR22A020002), Zhejiang Provincial Key Research and Development Program of China (2021C03130), Zhejiang Provincial Natural Science Foundation (LTGY23H040003), Ningbo key R&D Program (2022Z196), Research Academy of Medicine Combining Sports, Ningbo (No. 2023001), the Project of NINGBO Leading Medical & Health Discipline (Nos. 2022-F15, 2022-F22), Ningbo Natural Science Foundation (20221JCGY010532, 20221JCGY010607), Public Welfare Science & Technology Project of Ningbo, China (2021S134), and Zhejiang Rehabilitation Medical Association Scientific Research Special Fund (ZKKY2023001).