Ugbolue Ukadike C, Yates Emma L, Rowland Keir E, Wearing Scott C, Gu Yaodong, Lam Wing-Kai, Baker Julien S, Sculthorpe Nicholas F, Dutheil Frédéric
Faculty of Sports Science, Ningbo University, China.
School of Health and Life Sciences, Institute for Clinical Exercise & Health Science, University of the West of Scotland, South Lanarkshire, Scotland, UK.
Proc Inst Mech Eng H. 2021 Feb;235(2):197-207. doi: 10.1177/0954411920971069. Epub 2020 Nov 5.
The heel pad (HP) which is located below the calcaneus comprises a composition of morphometrical and morphological arrangements of soft tissues that are influenced by factors such as gender, age and obesity. It is well known that HP pain and Achilles tendonitis consist of discomfort, pain and swelling symptoms that usually develop from excessive physical activities such as walking, jumping and running. The purpose of this study was to develop biomechanical techniques to evaluate the function and characteristics of the HP. Ten healthy participants (five males and five females) participated in this laboratory-based study, each performing a two-footed heel raise to mimic the toe-off phase during human locomotion. Twenty-six (3 mm) retroreflective markers were attached to the left and right heels (thirteen markers on each heel). Kinematic data was captured using three-dimensional motion analysis cameras synchronised with force plates. Descriptive and multivariate statistical tests were used in this study. In addition, a biomechanical technique that utilises only six markers from 26 markers to assess HP deformation and function has been developed and used in this study. Overall HP displacement was significantly higher in males on the most lateral part of the right heel ( < 0.05). No significant differences were evident when comparing the non-dominant and dominant heels during the baseline, unloading and loading phases ( > 0.05). Findings from this study suggested that biomechanical outputs expressed as derivatives from tracked HP marker movements can morphologically and morphometrically characterise HP soft tissue deformation changes. The outcome of this study highlights the importance of 3D motion analysis being used as a potential prospective intervention to quantify the function / characteristics of the heel pad soft tissues.
位于跟骨下方的足跟垫（HP）由软组织的形态计量学和形态学排列组成，这些排列受性别、年龄和肥胖等因素影响。众所周知，足跟垫疼痛和跟腱炎包括不适、疼痛和肿胀症状，通常由行走、跳跃和跑步等过度体育活动引发。本研究的目的是开发生物力学技术来评估足跟垫的功能和特性。十名健康参与者（五名男性和五名女性）参与了这项基于实验室的研究，每人进行双脚提踵动作以模拟人类运动中的离地阶段。在左右足跟附着了26个（3毫米）反光标记（每个足跟13个标记）。使用与测力板同步的三维运动分析相机采集运动学数据。本研究采用了描述性和多变量统计测试。此外，本研究还开发并使用了一种仅利用26个标记中的6个标记来评估足跟垫变形和功能的生物力学技术。男性右足跟最外侧部分的足跟垫总体位移显著更高（<0.05）。在基线、卸载和加载阶段比较非优势足跟和优势足跟时，未发现显著差异（>0.05）。本研究结果表明，以跟踪的足跟垫标记运动导数表示的生物力学输出可以在形态学和形态计量学上表征足跟垫软组织变形变化。本研究结果凸显了将三维运动分析用作潜在前瞻性干预措施以量化足跟垫软组织功能/特性的重要性。
