John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, United States of America.
Research Institute of Human Ecology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2023 Sep 21;18(9):e0291914. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0291914. eCollection 2023.
Out-toeing gait may cause alterations in lower limb biomechanics that could lead to an increased risk of overuse injuries. Surgery and physical therapy are conventional methods for mitigating such gait, but they are costly and time-consuming. Wearable devices like braces and orthoses are used as affordable alternatives, but they apply non-negligible stress on the skin. Haptic feedback-delivering shoes were also recently developed, but they require actuators and power sources. The purpose of our study is to develop compression tights with inward directing taping lines that apply compression to lower limb muscles and segments to facilitate inward rotation of the foot, overcoming the drawbacks of previous methods. These compression tights were manufactured to fit the average height, leg length, hip girth, and waist girth of South Korean females in their twenties. The efficacy of these compression tights was evaluated by comparing walking kinematics and user satisfaction of 12 female dancers with an out-toeing gait under three conditions: wearing tights with taping lines, tights without taping lines, and basic bicycle shorts. The foot rotation angles and joint kinematics were recorded using a pressure-pad treadmill and motion capture system, respectively. Multiple pairwise comparisons revealed that the compression tights with inward-directing lines significantly reduced foot rotation angles (up to an average of 20.1%) compared with the bicycle shorts (p = 0.002 and 0.001 for dominant and non-dominant foot, respectively) or the compression tights without taping lines (p = 0.005 and p = 0.001 for dominant and non-dominant foot, respectively). Statistical parametric mapping revealed significant main effects of the tight type on joint kinematics. Also, t-tests revealed that the participants reported significantly higher ratings of perceived functionality and usability on the compression tights with inward-directing taping lines. In conclusion, we developed a comfortable and practical apparel-type wearable and demonstrated its short-term efficacy in mitigating out-toeing gait.
外八字步态可能会改变下肢的生物力学，从而增加过度使用损伤的风险。手术和物理疗法是矫正这种步态的传统方法，但它们成本高且耗时。矫形器和矫形器等可穿戴设备可用作经济实惠的替代品，但它们会对皮肤施加不可忽视的压力。最近还开发了提供触觉反馈的鞋子，但它们需要执行器和电源。我们的研究目的是开发具有向内导向贴带线的压缩紧身衣，这些贴带线对线施加压力，以压缩下肢肌肉和节段，从而促进脚向内旋转，克服以前方法的缺点。这些压缩紧身衣是根据韩国二十多岁女性的平均身高、腿长、臀围和腰围制造的。通过比较 12 名外八字步态的女性舞者在三种情况下（穿有贴带线的紧身衣、无贴带线的紧身衣和基本自行车短裤）的步行运动学和用户满意度，评估了这些压缩紧身衣的效果。使用压力垫跑步机和运动捕捉系统分别记录脚旋转角度和关节运动学。多项两两比较表明，与自行车短裤相比（优势脚和非优势脚的 p 值分别为 0.002 和 0.001），具有向内导向线的压缩紧身衣显著降低了脚旋转角度（平均降低了 20.1%），或者没有贴带线的压缩紧身衣（优势脚和非优势脚的 p 值分别为 0.005 和 0.001）。统计参数映射显示了紧身类型对关节运动学的显著主要影响。此外，t 检验表明，参与者对具有向内导向贴带线的压缩紧身衣的感知功能和可用性的评分明显更高。总之，我们开发了一种舒适且实用的服装式可穿戴设备，并证明了其在矫正外八字步态方面的短期疗效。
