مشخصات پژوهش

عنوان	The effect of foot wedges on postural sway and lower limb muscle activity
نوع پژوهش	مقاله چاپ‌شده در مجلات علمی
کلیدواژه‌ها	Foot orthotics; Subtalar joint; neuromuscular function; postural stability; EMG activity
چکیده	Background: Foot orthotics has been researched for their effect on postural stability in older persons. It is assumed that orthotic wedging could prevent abnormal compensatory motions in the proximal joints by aligning the subtalar joint and ankle and by improving the neuromuscular function of the foot. Limited reports exist on the effects of rear foot wedges on postural sway and lower limb muscle activity. The aim of this study was to investigate whether rear foot wedges alter postural control and lower limb muscle activity during quiet bipedal standing balance with eyes open. Methods: A two wooden wedges with an inclination of 4.6 degrees were placed under lateral and medial sides of the 15 healthy males (63±7.8 years) foot. A Footscan® balance system was used synchronously with an electromyography unit (MEGA ME 6000, Mega Electronics) to determine postural sway variables (Anterior-Posterior and Medial-Lateral ranges of centre of pressure (CoP) displacements) and amplitudes of electromyographic (EMG) activity in eight dominant lower limb muscles under three randomised conditions: no wedges (NW), medial wedges (MW) and laeral wedges (LW). Paired t-test was used to determine if two sets of data are significantly different from each other, between no wedge condition and each wedge condition. The significant level was set at p=0.05. Results: In the wedge positions no significant differences were observed in center of pressure (COP) and lower limb muscle activity. It may relate to postural strategy and responses employed by subjects against external sudden perturbation caused by wooden wedges. Conclusion: This study points at effects of rear wedges position on balance parameters which warrant future work in the field. In particular, the effect of long-term use of such wedges needs to be clinically evaluated.
پژوهشگران	حمزه صمیمی (نفر اول)، مهرداد عنبریان (نفر دوم)، Uwe G. Kersting (نفر سوم)