Lower Limb Muscle Activity Control by using Jamming Footwear.

Area of Science:

• Biomechanics
• Human Movement Science
• Rehabilitation Engineering

Background:

• Understanding and modulating lower limb muscle activity during gait is crucial for rehabilitation and performance enhancement.
• Current methods for altering muscle activation patterns during walking are often limited or invasive.
• Dynamic adjustment of footwear offers a potential non-invasive approach to influence gait biomechanics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and validate a novel system capable of dynamically changing shoe insoles to control lower limb muscle activities during walking.
• To investigate the effects of specific insole modifications on the activation patterns of key lower limb muscles, namely the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius.
• To assess the feasibility and preliminary effectiveness of a prototype muscle activity controlling system.

Main Methods:

• Development of a prototype system with dynamically adjustable shoe insoles.
• Experimental design involving walking trials with participants using the prototype system.
• Electromyography (EMG) analysis to measure the activity of the tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscles under different insole conditions.
• Analysis of muscle activation duration percentage and maximum amplitude in response to changes in heel shape, arch shape, and arch hardness.

Main Results:

• The system demonstrated the potential to alter muscle activation patterns during walking.
• Changes in the heel part shape of the insole significantly affected the duration percentage of tibialis anterior muscle activation.
• Modifications to the arch part's shape and hardness influenced the maximum amplitude of gastrocnemius muscle activation.

Conclusions:

• The developed muscle activity controlling system shows promise for modulating lower limb muscle engagement during gait.
• Dynamic insole adjustments represent a viable strategy for non-invasively influencing gait biomechanics and muscle activation.
• Further research is warranted to optimize the system and explore its therapeutic and performance applications.