Influence of footwear on stiffness of tibialis anterior muscle during walking

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to clarify the influence of footwear on the stiffness of the tibialis anterior muscle during walking. Three males participated in this experiment. Electrical stimulation was applied to the common peroneal nerve every two toe-offs while walking in sports shoes, slippers, and socks. Mechanomyograms (MMGs) were measured. The evoked MMG in walking was extracted using a Kalman filter and subtraction of the walking acceleration. The evoked MMG system was identified using a singular value decomposition method, and the natural frequency of the system was calculated from the transfer function. In conclusion, the natural frequency increased in the order of walking in sports shoes, slippers, and socks. It was concluded that the muscle stiffness in walking at toe-off increased in the order of walking in sports shoes, slippers, and socks.