Calf muscle activity alteration with foot orthoses insertion during walking measured by fine-wire electromyography

Abstract

[Purpose] The purpose of the study was to assess the muscle activity change of the tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus, and peroneus longus during gait with orthoses. [Subjects and Methods] Sixteen healthy males participated in this study. Activity of each muscle was measured by using fine-wire and surface electromyography. Gait task was performed by the participants barefoot, with footwear and with orthoses. The electromyography data from a stance phase of each gait trial were used for analysis. The stance phase was divided into contact, midstance, and propulsion phases. The data from ten participants were extracted for final analysis, as electromyography measurements were unsuccessful for the other six. [Results] The results demonstrated that orthoses significantly reduced the tibialis posterior muscle activity in the propulsion phase compared to that in the barefoot condition. Although there was a significant difference in the midstance phase, post hoc analysis did not indicate significant differences among the phases. No significant electromyography amplitude change was detected in flexor digitorum longus and peroneus longus. [Conclusion] Orthothes reduced the tibialis posterior activity level during gait. This result may be beneficial for patients with injuries related to excessive activity of tibialis posterior.

A systematic review of the effect of footwear, foot orthoses and taping on lower limb muscle activity during walking and running

“…18,21 Another two studies found TP activity was not significantly different between the footwear and FOs conditions (p > 0.05), although there was a decrease of around 10% (p < 0.05) from barefoot to shod and shod with either a prefabricated or custom FOs, which was not considered clinically generalisable in this review. 2,40 However, in the study that recorded kinematics and kinetics, there was also no effect of FOs on subtalar joint displacement or supination moment relative to the shoe condition. 2 There was no difference in flexor digitorum longus or PL activity between conditions.…”

Piriformis electromyography activity during prone and side-lying hip joint movement

“…Bipolar, fine-wire, intramuscular, Teflon-coated, stainless steel electrodes with uninsulated tips bent at 3 mm and 5 mm to create hooks, were attached to 23-G sterilized Cattelan needles (Unique Medical, Japan) and used for measurement of piriformis EMG activity. Insertion into the piriformis was accomplished by an experienced orthopedic surgeon 12 ) . The participants were placed in side-lying position with their dominant hand side up, and with knees flexed at 90° and hips flexed at 45°.…”

Effect of Customized Insoles on Gait in Post-Stroke Hemiparetic Individuals: A Randomized Controlled Trial

“…Kusumoto et al confirmed that the insoles combined with a metatarsal pad promoted static and dynamic balance in patients with cerebral palsy [20]. Based on the previously mentioned studies, it was found that the insoles had only one additional modification that had been applied for the correction of lower limb kinematic and kinetic abnormalities in most studies on hemiplegic gait [21,22]. In fact, patients with hemiplegia usually had variable abnormal gait performances, which were caused by different foot structures and movement defects such as a collapsed transverse arch, spastic clawing of toes, restricted ankle dorsiflexion, and plantarflexion [23].…”