School of Human Movement and Nutrition Science, The University of Queensland, Union Rd, St Lucia, Queensland, 4067, Australia.
Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering, Queen's University, 130 Stuart Street, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 3N6, Canada.
Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2023 Dec;98(6):2136-2151. doi: 10.1111/brv.12999. Epub 2023 Jul 24.
In this narrative review we evaluate foundational biomechanical theories of human foot function in light of new data acquired with technology that was not available to early researchers. The formulation and perpetuation of early theories about foot function largely involved scientists who were medically trained with an interest in palaeoanthropology, driven by a desire to understand human foot pathologies. Early observations of people with flat feet and foot pain were analogized to those of our primate ancestors, with the concept of flat feet being a primitive trait, which was a driving influence in early foot biomechanics research. We describe the early emergence of the mobile adaptor-rigid lever theory, which was central to most biomechanical theories of human foot function. Many of these theories attempt to explain how a presumed stiffening behaviour of the foot enables forward propulsion. Interestingly, none of the subsequent theories have been able to explain how the foot stiffens for propulsion. Within this review we highlight the key omission that the mobile adaptor-rigid lever paradigm was never experimentally tested. We show based on current evidence that foot (quasi-)stiffness does not actually increase prior to, nor during propulsion. Based on current evidence, it is clear that the mechanical function of the foot is highly versatile. This function is adaptively controlled by the central nervous system to allow the foot to meet the wide variety of demands necessary for human locomotion. Importantly, it seems that substantial joint mobility is essential for this function. We suggest refraining from using simple, mechanical analogies to explain holistic foot function. We urge the scientific community to abandon the long-held mobile adaptor-rigid lever paradigm, and instead to acknowledge the versatile and non-linear mechanical behaviour of a foot that is adapted to meet constantly varying locomotory demands.
在这篇叙述性评论中，我们根据新技术获得的数据来评估人类足部功能的基础生物力学理论，这些新技术是早期研究人员所没有的。早期关于足部功能的理论的形成和延续，主要涉及对古人类学感兴趣的医学训练的科学家，他们的驱动力是理解人类足部病理。早期对扁平足和足部疼痛患者的观察结果与我们的灵长类祖先进行了类比，扁平足的概念是一种原始特征，这是早期足部生物力学研究的主要驱动力。我们描述了可移动的适应器-刚性杠杆理论的早期出现，该理论是大多数人类足部功能生物力学理论的核心。这些理论中的许多都试图解释为什么假定的足部僵硬行为可以实现向前推进。有趣的是，随后的理论都未能解释足部如何变硬以实现推进。在这篇综述中，我们强调了一个关键的遗漏，即可移动的适应器-刚性杠杆范式从未经过实验测试。我们根据当前的证据表明，足部（准）刚度实际上在推进之前和推进过程中都没有增加。根据当前的证据，很明显，足部的机械功能非常多样化。这种功能由中枢神经系统自适应控制，使足部能够满足人类运动所需的各种需求。重要的是，关节的大量活动似乎对这种功能至关重要。我们建议避免使用简单的机械类比来解释整体足部功能。我们敦促科学界放弃长期持有的可移动适应器-刚性杠杆范式，而应承认适应不断变化的运动需求的足部的多样化和非线性机械行为。
