Abstract
Sensory feedback from the foot sole plays an important role in shaping human locomotion. While net muscle activity and kinematic changes have been correlated with electrical stimulation to five topographical regions of the foot, it remains unknown if these responses are similar with tactile stimulation. The purpose of this study was to use texture in foot orthosis design, applied to five distinct regions under the foot sole, and measure joint kinematics, location of center of pressure, and muscle activity of eight lower leg muscles during level and incline walking. Fifty-five healthy adults completed 48 walking trials in textured and non-textured foot orthoses. Study results confirm that tactile stimulation is stimulation-site and gait-phase specific in modulating lower leg muscle activity during walking. For example, texture under the lateral forefoot consistently generated a suppression of EMG and texture under the lateral midfoot always generated a facilitation. In early stance, adding texture under the medial midfoot or calcaneus facilitated extensor muscle activity and suppressed flexor muscle activity. Texture under the lateral midfoot or medial forefoot facilitated tibialis posterior activation. These results support the topographical organization of cutaneous mechanoreceptors in foot sole skin while considering how texture can be used in foot orthosis design to target lower leg muscular changes during locomotion.
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All data generated or analysed during this study area available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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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. The effect of texture under distinct regions of the foot sole on human locomotion. Exp Brain Res 240, 2175–2189 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-022-06402-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-022-06402-x