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Relationship between navicular drop and muscle onset timing during single-leg stance: A cross-sectional study
Yu-Rin Jeon1, Jun-Hee Kim1, Ui-Jae Hwang1
1Department of Physical Therapy, College of Software and Digital Healthcare Convergence, Yonsei University, Yeonsedae-gil, Heungeop-myeon, Wonju-si, Gangwon-do 26493, South Korea.
Background:
While the relationship between foot posture and muscle activity has been extensively studied, limited research has examined how navicular drop relates to muscle activation timing during functional tasks. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between navicular drop measurements and onset timing of lower extremity muscle activation during single-leg stance.
Methods:
Forty-two pain-free participants performed single-leg stance tasks while surface electromyography recorded activation onset times of six muscles: abductor hallucis, tibialis anterior, rectus femoris, gastrocnemius, gluteus medius, and rectus abdominis. Navicular drop was measured using standard protocols. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to examine relationships between navicular drop and muscle onset timing.
Results:
A significant low positive correlation was found between navicular drop and gluteus medius onset timing (r = 0.322, p = 0.046), indicating some delayed activation with greater navicular drop. No significant correlations were found between navicular drop and onset timing of other muscles.
Conclusions:
The findings suggest that increased navicular drop is associated with delayed gluteus medius activation during single-leg stance, highlighting the importance of considering both foot posture and hip muscle function in clinical assessment and rehabilitation strategies.
