Temporal patterns of plantar pressures and lower-leg muscle activity during walking: effect of speed

Plantar pressure assessment is a tool useful for study of the gait cycle. In this study, we present a means of assessing the gait cycle using a temporal analysis of plantar pressures and lower-leg muscle activities. Plantar pressures and surface electromyography (EMG) of the tibialis anterior (TA) and medial gastrocnemius (MG) muscles were recorded as 19 men walked on a treadmill at seven speeds between 0.45 and 1.79 m/s. A typical 'heel strike to toe off' gait pattern was observed. Speed had minimal effects on the shapes of the muscle EMG root-mean-square-and plantar pressure-time curves except for the pressure-time curves in the heel and midfoot. A linear relationship was found between speed and peak pressures in the heel, medial forefoot, and toes; pressures in these regions increased by 91-289% going from 0.45 to 1.79 m/s. The temporal pressure changes in the forefoot and toes were paralleled by changes in MG muscle activity (i.e., cross-correlations of > or =0.90); TA muscle activity was not cross-correlated with the temporal pressure patterns in any region. However, the peak values of TA muscle activity were found to be highly correlated across speeds with peak pressures in the heel and toes (i.e., r > or =0.98); similar high correlations were found between peak values of MG muscle activity and heel pressure. In summary, these data collected on able-bodied persons during motorized treadmill walking can be useful for comparison to those of patients undergoing treadmill evaluations for atypical gait cycle patterns and for tracking the progress of patients during gait rehabilitation.