Abstract
Foot orthoses (FO) are a commonly prescribed intervention to alter foot function during walking although their effects have been primarily studied in the extrinsic muscles of the foot. Furthermore, enhancing sensory feedback under the foot sole has been recently shown to alter extrinsic muscle activity during gait; however, the effects of FOs with enhanced sensory feedback on plantar intrinsic foot muscles (PIFMs) remain unknown. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of FOs with and without sensory facilitation on PIFM activity during locomotion. Forty healthy adults completed a series of gait trials in non-textured and textured FOs when walking over hard and soft flooring. Outcome measures included bilateral joint kinematics and electromyography (EMG) of four PIFMs. Results of this study highlight the distinct onset and cessations of each PIFM throughout the stance phase of gait. PIFMs remained active during mid-stance when wearing FOs and textured FOs facilitated muscle activity across the stance phase of gait. Increasing cutaneous input from foot sole skin, via the addition of texture under the foot sole, appears to alter motor-neuron pool excitation of PIFMs. Future academics are encouraged to increase our understanding on which pathologies, diseases, and/or medical conditions would best benefit from textured FOs.
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The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgements
This work was supported by the Natural Science and Engineer Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant [RGPIN-2015-06481] and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation [5141].
Funding
This work was supported by the Pedorthic Research Foundation of Canada, the Natural Science and Engineer Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Grant [RGPIN-2015-06481] and the Canadian Foundation for Innovation [5141].
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Stephen Perry holds a patent for a balance-enhancing insole (Maki, Perry, McIlroy, US 6,237,256 B1, 2001) and is the CEO of Balancepro, Inc. that is involved in the commercialization of the ‘Balancepro’ insole. Kelly Robb is a Canadian Certified Pedorthist, has submitted a patent for a textured insole (CAN, US Patent Offices, 2020), and has intention of using textured foot orthotics in future clinical practice.
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Communicated by Francesco Lacquaniti.
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Robb, K.A., Perry, S.D. Capitalizing on skin in orthotics design: the effects of texture on plantar intrinsic foot muscles during locomotion. Exp Brain Res 242, 403–416 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06758-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-023-06758-8