The rise of the longitudinal arch when sitting, standing, and walking: Contributions of the windlass mechanism.

The original windlass mechanism describes a one-to-one coupling between metatarsal joint dorsiflexion and medial longitudinal arch rise. The description assumes a sufficiently stiff plantar aponeurosis and absence of foot muscle activity. However, recent research calls for a broader interpretation of the windlass mechanism that accounts for an extensible plantar aponeurosis and active foot muscles. In this study, we investigate the rise of the arch in response to toe dorsiflexion when sitting, standing, and walking to discuss the windlass mechanism's contributions in static and dynamic load scenarios. 3D motion analysis allowed a kinematic investigation of the rise and drop of the arch relative to the extent of toe dorsiflexion. The results suggest that static windlass effects poorly predict the relationship between arch dynamics and metatarsophalangeal joint motion during dynamic load scenarios, such as walking. We were able to show that toe dorsiflexion resulted in an immediate rise of the longitudinal arch during sitting and standing. In contrast, a decrease in arch height was observed during walking, despite toe dorsiflexion at the beginning of the push-off phase. Further, the longitudinal arch rose almost linearly with toe dorsiflexion in the static loading scenarios, while the dynamic load scenario revealed an exponential rise of the arch. In addition to that, the rate of change in arch height relative to toe motion was significantly lower when sitting and standing compared to walking. Finally, and most surprisingly, arch rise was found to correlate with toe dorsiflexion only in the dynamic loading scenario. These results challenge the traditional perspective of the windlass mechanism as the dominating source of foot rigidity for push-off against the ground during bipedal walking. It seems plausible that other mechanisms besides the windlass act to raise the foot arch.

The effect of marker size on three-dimensional motion analysis of the foot.

BACKGROUND: In the field of three-dimensional motion analysis of the foot, there is little agreement on the preferred size of markers to record kinematic parameters. Although currently applied marker sizes show a considerable range, there has been no detailed investigation of the effect of marker size on the calculation of foot kinematics in the current literature. RESEARCH QUESTION: The objective of this research was to determine whether marker size impacts essential parameters that describe foot biomechanics. METHODS: Seventeen subjects participated in this randomized repeatability study. All participants had to walk on a treadmill twice to test two sets of markers (set A: small marker, 9.5 mm, 1 g; set B: large marker, 14 mm, 2 g). Three-dimensional motion capturing was used to record the trajectories of the markers. The spatial relation of the markers, as well as vertical motion of the navicular bone and the angle of the medial longitudinal arch were calculated based on the marker trajectories. In addition to motion capturing, skin rigidity was quantified by applying an oscillatory shear force to the skin. Analysis of variance, root-mean-square error calculations and linear fit methods were applied to evaluate effects of marker size on the calculation of foot kinematics and the impact of skin rigidity. RESULTS: The estimated foot kinematics appeared to be unaffected by the size of the markers. Further, there was no evidence that skin rigidity influenced the error of the marker trajectories. Interestingly, the large markers fell off more frequently. SIGNIFICANCE: The findings will be of interest to those who use marker-based three-dimensional motion capturing, especially to analyze foot biomechanics. Although the calculation of kinematic parameters appears to be unaffected by marker size, practical aspects, like accidental marker loss, favor the application of small markers.

Evolutionary anatomy of the plantar aponeurosis in primates, including humans.

The plantar aponeurosis in the human foot has been extensively studied and thoroughly described, in part, because of the incidence of plantar fasciitis in humans. It is commonly assumed that the human plantar aponeurosis is a unique adaptation to bipedalism that evolved in concert with the longitudinal arch. However, the comparative anatomy of the plantar aponeurosis is poorly known in most mammals, even among non-human primates, hindering efforts to understand its function. Here, we review previous anatomical descriptions of 40 primate species and use phylogenetic comparative methods to reconstruct the evolution of the plantar aponeurosis and its relationship to the plantaris muscle in primates. Ancestral state reconstructions suggest that the overall organization of the human plantar aponeurosis is shared with chimpanzees and that a similar anatomical configuration evolved independently in different primate clades as an adaptation to terrestrial locomotion. The presence of a plantar aponeurosis with clearly developed lateral and central bands in the African apes suggests that this structure is not prohibitive to suspensory locomotion and that these species possess versatile feet adapted for both terrestrial and arboreal locomotion. This plantar aponeurosis configuration would have been advantageous in enhancing foot stiffness for bipedal locomotion in the earliest hominins, prior to the evolution of a longitudinal arch. Hominins may have subsequently evolved thicker and stiffer plantar aponeuroses alongside the arch to enable a windlass mechanism and elastic energy storage for bipedal walking and running, although this idea requires further testing.

Does neuromuscular electrostimulation have the potential to increase intrinsic foot muscle strength?

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of an eight-week neuromuscular electrostimulation program on the intrinsic foot muscle strength. The results were compared with those from a passive and an active control group. METHODS: 74 healthy participants were recruited and divided into three groups: a neuromuscular electrostimulation group (n=19), a passive control group (n=15) with no further intervention, and an active control group following a running protocol with minimal shoes (n=40). The electrostimulation and running groups followed a training protocol consisting of two sessions per week over a period of eight weeks. Three characteristics of intrinsic foot muscle strength were investigated: cross sectional area of the abductor hallucis muscle, longitudinal arch stability, and intrinsic foot muscle fatigue. RESULTS: After eight weeks of intervention, the cross sectional area increased by 16.3% for the running group with a large effect size (0.801) according to Cohen's d. The electrostimulation group showed no such effect. The increase in the cross sectional area had no impact on longitudinal arch stability or intrinsic foot muscle fatigue results. CONCLUSION: This study investigated neuromuscular electrostimulation as a prevention and rehabilitation strategy. The results indicate that, compared to minimally shod running, the effects of electrostimulation on healthy participants might be too small to be detected. Further, the results provide evidence that the static navicular drop test is not sensitive enough to indicate intrinsic foot muscle strength. This appears clinically relevant, as this test is often used by therapists to evaluate patients' longitudinal arch function.