Characteristics of foot plantar pressure during turning in young male adults

Xinyao Hu; Junpeng Tang; Wenfei Cai; Zhenglong Sun; Zhong Zhao; Xingda Qu

doi:10.1016/j.gaitpost.2023.01.003

Characteristics of foot plantar pressure during turning in young male adults

Gait Posture. 2023 Mar:101:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2023.01.003. Epub 2023 Jan 10.

Authors

Xinyao Hu¹, Junpeng Tang¹, Wenfei Cai², Zhenglong Sun³, Zhong Zhao¹, Xingda Qu⁴

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University, China.
² Department of Sports, Shenzhen University, China.
³ School of Science and Engineering, Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), Shenzhen, China.
⁴ Institute of Human Factors and Ergonomics, College of Mechatronics and Control Engineering, Shenzhen University, China. Electronic address: quxd@szu.edu.cn.

PMID: 36696820
DOI: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2023.01.003

Abstract

Background: Turning gait is considered as a challenging motor task. However, only few existing studies reported turning biomechanics from the aspect of foot plantar pressure.

Research question: This study aimed to investigate turning biomechanics by studying foot plantar pressure characteristics METHODS: Twelve young male participants were involved in this experimental study. They were instructed to perform turning tasks with different turning angles (i.e., 30°, 60°, and 90°). Foot plantar pressure was quantified by the force time integral (FTI) underneath seven plantar sub-areas. Analysis was carried out for different turning strategies (spin turns versus step turns), separately.

Results: The results showed that for small-angle spin turns, plantar pressure patterns changed at the early stage of the approaching step, suggesting a preparatory action for the increased lower limb range of motion in the transverse plane during turning; for step turns, an imbalance weight bearing mechanism was adopted when making large-angle turns to compensate for the centripetal force during turning.

Significance: The findings provide improved knowledge about turning biomechanics. They have practical implications for motion planning of lower-limb assistive devices for those with difficulties in turning.

Keywords: Foot plantar pressure; Spin turns; Step turns; Turning; Turning angles.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Adult
Biomechanical Phenomena
Foot*
Gait
Humans
Lower Extremity*
Male
Weight-Bearing