Acute effect of foot strike patterns on in vivo tibiotalar and subtalar joint kinematics during barefoot running

Background:Foot kinematics,such as excessive eversion and malalignment of the hindfoot,are believed to be associated with running-related injuries.The maj ority of studies to date show that different foot strike patterns influence these specific foot and ankle kinematics.However,technical deficiencies in traditional motion capture approaches limit knowledge of in vivo joint kinematics with respect to rearfoot and forefoot strike patterns(RFS and FFS,respectively).This study uses a high-speed dual fluoroscopic imaging system(DFIS)to determine the effects of different foot strike patterns on 3D in vivo tibiotalar and subtalar joints kinematics.Methods:Fifteen healthy male recreational runners underwent foot computed tomography scanning for the construction of 3-dimensional models.A high-speed DFIS(100 Hz)was used to collect 6 degrees of freedom kinematics for participants’tibiotalar and subtalar joints when they adopted RFS and FFS in barefoot condition.Results:Compared with RFS,FFS exhibited greater internal rotation at 0%-20%of the stance phase in the tibiotalar joint.The peak internal rotation angle of the tibiotalar joint under FFS was greater than under RFS(p<0.001,Cohen’s d=0.92).RFS showed more dorsiflexion at 0%-20%of the stance phase in the tibiotalar joint than FFS.RFS also presented a larger anterior translation(p<0.001,Cohen’s d=1.28)in the subtalar joint at i nitial contact than FFS.Conclusion:Running with acute barefoot FFS increases the internal rotation of the tibiotalar joint in the early stance.The use of high-speed DFIS to quantify the movement of the tibiotalar and subtalar joint was critical to revealing the effects of RF S and FFS during running.

Intrinsic Kinematics of the Tibiotalar and Subtalar Joints during Human Walking based on Dynamic Biplanar Fluoroscopy

Accurate knowledge of the kinematics of the in vivo Ankle Joint Complex(AJC)is critical for understanding the biomechanical function of the foot and assessing postoperative rehabilitation of ankle disorders,as well as an essential guide to the design of ankle–foot assistant devices.However,detailed analysis of the continuous 3D motion of the tibiotalar and subtalar joints during normal walking throughout the stance phase is still considered to be lacking.In this study,dynamic radiographs of the hindfoot were acquired from eight subjects during normal walking.Natural motions with six Degrees of Freedom(DOF)and the coupled patterns of the two joints were analyzed.It was found that the movements of the two joints were mostly in opposite directions(including rotation and translation),mainly in the early and late stages.There were significant differences in the Range of Motion(ROM)in Dorsiflexion/Plantarflexion(D/P),Inversion/Eversion(In/Ev),and Anterior–Posterior(AP)and Medial–Lateral(ML)translation of the tibiotalar and subtalar joints(p<0.05).Plantarflexion of the tibiotalar joint was coupled with eversion and posterior translation of the subtalar joint during the impact phase(R^(2)=0.87 and 0.86,respectively),and plantarflexion of the tibiotalar joint was coupled with inversion and anterior translation of the subtalar joint during the push-off phase(R^(2)=0.93 and 0.75,respectively).This coordinated coupled motion of the two joints may be a manifestation of the AJC to move flexibly while bearing weight and still have stability.