Department of Health and Human Development, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA, USA.
Department of Kinesiology, Sam Houston University, Huntsville, TX, USA.
J Biomech. 2024 May;168:112117. doi: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112117. Epub 2024 Apr 24.
Hindfoot, midfoot, and forefoot motion during the stance phase of walking provide insights into the forward progression of the body over the feet via the rocker mechanisms. These segmental motions are affected by walking speed. Increases in walking speed are accomplished by increasing step length and cadence. It is unknown if taking short, medium, and long steps at the same speed would increase hindfoot, midfoot, and forefoot motion similarly to walking speed. We examined effects of different step lengths at the same preferred walking speed on peak forefoot, midfoot, and hindfoot motions related to the foot rockers. Twelve young healthy adults completed five walking trials under three step length conditions in a random order as feet and lower extremity motion were measured via marker positions for the combined Oxford foot and conventional gait models. Peak hindfoot, midfoot, and forefoot joint angles indicating heel, ankle, and forefoot rockers were identified. When walking at the same preferred speed with increase in step length, there were increases in peak hindfoot-tibia plantarflexion angle (p < 0.001; η = 0.76) in early stance associated with the heel rocker and peak hindfoot-tibia dorsiflexion angle (p = 0.016; η = 0.39) in midstance associated with ankle rocker. In late stance, the peak hindfoot-tibia plantarflexion angle, forefoot-hindfoot angle, and forefoot-hallux dorsiflexion angle indicating forefoot rocker motion also increased with step length (p < 0.01). When foot kinematics are compared across different individuals or the same individual across different sessions, researchers and clinicians should consider the influence of step length as a contributor to differences in foot kinematics observed.
在步行的站立阶段，足跟、中足和前足的运动通过 rocker 机制为身体在足部的向前推进提供了深入的了解。这些分段运动受步行速度的影响。步行速度的增加是通过增加步长和步频来实现的。目前尚不清楚以相同速度进行短、中、长步是否会像步行速度一样增加足跟、中足和前足的运动。我们研究了在相同的最佳步行速度下不同步长对与足部 rocker 相关的前足、中足和足跟最大运动的影响。12 名年轻健康成年人在随机顺序下完成了三种步长条件下的五次步行试验，同时通过标记位置测量足部和下肢运动，用于组合牛津足和常规步态模型。确定了指示足跟、踝关节和前足 rocker 的最大足跟、中足和前足关节角度。当以相同的最佳速度和增加的步长行走时，与足跟 rocker 相关的早期站立时最大足跟-胫骨跖屈角度（p<0.001；η=0.76）以及与踝关节 rocker 相关的中期站立时最大足跟-胫骨背屈角度（p=0.016；η=0.39）均增加。在后期站立时，与前足 rocker 运动相关的最大足跟-胫骨跖屈角度、前足-足跟角度和前足-大脚趾背屈角度也随步长增加（p<0.01）。当在不同个体或同一个体的不同会话中比较足部运动时，研究人员和临床医生应该考虑步长作为观察到的足部运动差异的一个影响因素。
