Open AccessInvestigation of the biomechanical effect of variable stiffness shoe on external knee adduction moment in various dynamic exercises
Author(s) -
Teoh Jee Chin,
Low Jin Huat,
Lim Ying Bena,
Shim Victor PhyauWui,
Park Jaeyoung,
Park SeungBum,
Park Sang Jun,
Lee Taeyong
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of foot and ankle research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.763
H-Index - 39
ISSN - 1757-1146
DOI - 10.1186/1757-1146-6-39
Subject(s) - medicine , osteoarthritis , physical medicine and rehabilitation , physical therapy , rehabilitation , knee joint , population , range of motion , surgery , pathology , environmental health , alternative medicine
Background The growing ageing population and high prevalence of knee osteoarthritis (OA) in athletes across nations have created a strong demand for improved non‐invasive therapeutic alternatives for knee OA. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of the variable stiffness shoe (VSS), a new non‐invasive therapeutic approach, on external knee adduction moment (EKAM) in various dynamic exercises. EKAM is believed to have positive correlation with the progression and development of knee OA. Methods Thirty young participants (16 male and 14 female; age 22.6 ± 1.9 years) from National University of Singapore were enrolled in this study. The tested activities were walking, running, drop‐landing, and lateral hopping. All the dynamic exercises were recorded simultaneously by the 8‐camera VICON Motion Systems (Oxford Metric, UK) with a sampling rate of 100 Hz. Results The results showed that the EKAM was reduced in all the dynamic exercises with the use of VSS. The VSS produced significant reductions in the peak EKAM during walking (4.97%, p = 0.039), running (11.15%, p = 0.011), drop‐landing (11.18%, p = 0.038) and lateral hopping (17.34%, p = 0.023) as compared to the control shoe. Conclusions The reduction of EKAM with the use of VSS in various dynamic exercises demonstrates its potential in delaying the onset and the progression of knee OA in early stage of knee OA patients.