Effectiveness of Using a Digital Wearable Plantar Pressure Device to Detect Muscle Fatigue: Within-Subject, Repeated...

Area of Science:

• Biomedical Engineering
• Sports Science
• Rehabilitation Technology

Background:

• Muscle fatigue, a decline in force generation during repetitive contractions, affects older adults and athletes.
• Existing muscle fatigue detection methods lack real-time, wearable solutions with high usability.
• Plantar pressure monitoring offers a promising, footwear-integrated approach for home-based fatigue assessment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a self-developed wearable plantar pressure system in detecting muscle fatigue.
• To investigate the correlation between plantar pressure changes and muscle fatigue in the gastrocnemius muscles.

Main Methods:

• Twelve healthy participants underwent a 5-minute calf muscle fatigue protocol.
• Plantar pressures and surface electromyography (sEMG) of gastrocnemius muscles were recorded.
• Plantar pressure distribution and sEMG median frequency (MDF) were analyzed to quantify fatigue.

Main Results:

• Significant decreases in plantar pressure were observed at the heel and lateral toe regions.
• A significant increase in plantar pressure was noted at the metatarsal head.
• sEMG median frequency significantly decreased, indicating gastrocnemius muscle fatigue.

Conclusions:

• The wearable plantar pressure system effectively detects gastrocnemius muscle fatigue.
• Plantar pressure changes correlate with muscle fatigue, validated by sEMG.
• The developed system supports a user-friendly, home-use solution for muscle fatigue monitoring.