Biomechanics of the toe-only rocker sole shoe: gait kinematics and kinetics

This paper reports the kinematic and kinetic changes in gait with bilateral toe-only walker effects sole shoe application. Three-dimensional motion analysis techniques were employed to assess the temporal, stride, and motion/moment gait characteristics of forty (40) subjects while wearing baseline and toe-only rocker sole shoes. Despite the altered geometry of the toe-only rocker, walking speed was maintained through an increase in cadence (+1.8 steps/min) and decrease in stride length (-19.8 mm), p=0.01. The toe-only rocker consistently resulted in increase in posterior pelvic tilt (p=0.01). At the knee, the toe-only rocker consistently increased the knee extensor (quadriceps) moment demand throughout stance. Ankle joint moments were altered in the sagittal and transverse plane. Joint moment alterations were predominate with the toe-only rocker during stance (30-50 % cycle) and thought to relate to a transition about the rocker fulcrum.

[1]  B M Nigg,et al.  Influence of heel height on ankle joint moments in running. , 1995, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[2]  J. Perry,et al.  Walking patterns of healthy subjects wearing rocker shoes. , 1985, Physical therapy.

[3]  Lloyd D. Fisher,et al.  Biostatistics: A Methodology for the Health Sciences , 1993 .

[4]  Michael J. Mueller,et al.  Relationship of plantar-flexor peak torque and dorsiflexion range of motion to kinetic variables during walking. , 1995, Physical therapy.

[5]  D. Winter,et al.  Talocrural and talocalcaneal joint kinematics and kinetics during the stance phase of walking. , 1991, Journal of biomechanics.

[6]  Effect of shoe modifications on center of pressure and in-shoe plantar pressures. , 1999, American journal of physical medicine & rehabilitation.

[7]  M. J. Muêller,et al.  Hip and ankle walking strategies: effect on peak plantar pressures and implications for neuropathic ulceration. , 1994, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[8]  G F Harris,et al.  A system for the analysis of foot and ankle kinematics during gait. , 1996, IEEE transactions on rehabilitation engineering : a publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society.

[9]  P. Brand.  Management of the insensitive limb. , 1979, Physical therapy.

[10]  T G McPoil,et al.  Symmetry of plantar pressures and vertical forces in healthy subjects during walking. , 2001, Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association.

[11]  J. Perry,et al.  Gait Analysis , 2024 .

[12]  G. W. Snedecor.  Statistical Methods , 1964 .

[13]  Michael J. Mueller,et al.  Differences in the gait characteristics of patients with diabetes and peripheral neuropathy compared with age-matched controls. , 1994, Physical therapy.

[14]  Joseph Hamill,et al.  Orthotic intervention in forefoot and rearfoot strike running patterns. , 2004, Clinical biomechanics.

[15]  D. Winter,et al.  Kinetic analysis of the lower limbs during walking: what information can be gained from a three-dimensional model? , 1995, Journal of biomechanics.

[16]  Mohamed R Mahfouz,et al.  Multicenter Determination of In Vivo Kinematics After Total Knee Arthroplasty , 2003, Clinical orthopaedics and related research.

[17]  J B Dingwell,et al.  Neuropathic gait shows only trends towards increased variability of sagittal plane kinematics during treadmill locomotion. , 1999, Gait & posture.

[18]  M. Besser,et al.  Comparison of an in-shoe pressure measurement device to a force plate: concurrent validity of center of pressure measurements. , 1998, Gait & posture.

[19]  M. Pinzur,et al.  American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society Shoe Survey of Diabetic Patients , 1999, Foot & ankle international.

[20]  Lloyd D. Fisher,et al.  2. Biostatistics: A Methodology for the Health Sciences , 1994 .

[21]  Gerald F Harris,et al.  Effect of rocker soles on plantar pressures. , 2004, Archives of physical medicine and rehabilitation.

[22]  Scott Tashman,et al.  Abnormal Rotational Knee Motion during Running after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction , 2004, The American journal of sports medicine.

[23]  D. Nawoczenski,et al.  Effect of rocker sole design on plantar forefoot pressures. , 1988, Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association.

[24]  I. McClay Davis,et al.  Effect of inverted orthoses on lower-extremity mechanics in runners. , 2003, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[25]  C. Reinschmidt,et al.  The movement of the heel within a running shoe. , 1992, Medicine and science in sports and exercise.

[26]  Scott Tashman,et al.  A method to estimate in vivo dynamic articular surface interaction. , 2003, Journal of biomechanics.

[27]  David B. Thordarson,et al.  Foot and ankle , 2004 .

[28]  Angelo Cappello,et al.  Fluoroscopic and gait analysis of the functional performance in stair ascent of two total knee replacement designs. , 2003, Gait & posture.

[29]  P. Cavanagh,et al.  Design Criteria for Rigid Rocker Shoes , 2000, Foot & ankle international.

[30]  R A Olshen,et al.  Statistical analysis of gait patterns of persons with cerebral palsy. , 2015, Statistics in medicine.

[31]  R. Marks,et al.  Validation of a multisegment foot and ankle kinematic model for pediatric gait , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering.

[32]  E. Fuller,et al.  Reduction of peak pressure on the forefoot with a rigid rocker-bottom postoperative shoe. , 2001, Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association.

[33]  M P Kadaba,et al.  Measurement of lower extremity kinematics during level walking , 1990, Journal of orthopaedic research : official publication of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

[34]  P. Cavanagh,et al.  Shoes for the Insensitive Foot: The Effect of a “Rocker Bottom” Shoe Modification on Plantar Pressure Distribution , 1990, Foot & ankle.