Background

Diminished somatosensory function is a critical age-related change which is related to postural instability in the older population. Footwear is a cost-effective way to modulate the postural stability by altering sensorimotor inputs via mechanoreceptors on the plantar surface of the feet. Compared to insoles with indentions in the entire surface, we innovatively developed a textured insole with site-specific nodulous protrudous. This study thus aimed to investigate the immediate effect of the nodulous insole and supporting surface condition on static postural stability and lower limb muscle activation for healthy older women.

Methods

This is a single-session study with repeated measurements. Twenty-three healthy older women stood on the firm (i.e., concrete floor) and foam surfaces with their eyes open in the three footwear conditions, namely barefoot, plain shoes and shoes with an innovative textured insole, for 30 seconds. Static postural sway and muscle activation of biceps femoris (BF), vastus lateralis (VL), tibialis anterior (TA), and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) of the dominant leg were measured during each testing condition.

Results

Compared to a firm surface, standing on the foam could significantly increase the body sway and lower limb muscle activation (p<0.05). When standing on the foam, compared to barefoot, wearing footwear significantly decreased the VL and TA muscle activation and minimize the postural sway in medial-lateral and anterior-posterior direction, while the influence is larger for the shoes with nodulous insloe compared to the plain shoes. No significant differences between the footwear conditions for static stability and muscle activation were observed on firm surface condition.

Conclusions

For older women, footwear could improve the postural stability in the unstable surface, particularly the footwear with nodulous insole, with the underlying mechanism as enhancing the mechanoreceptors on the plantar surface of the feet.

中文翻译：

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支撑表面和鞋类状况对老年妇女的姿势摇摆和下肢肌肉动作的影响。

背景

体感功能减弱是与年龄相关的重要变化，与老年人群的姿势不稳有关。鞋类是一种经济有效的方式，可通过脚底表面的机械感受器改变感觉运动输入来调节姿势稳定性。与整个表面都有凹痕的鞋垫相比，我们创新地开发了具有特定部位结节状突起的质感鞋垫。因此，本研究旨在调查结节性鞋垫和支撑表面状况对健康老年妇女的静态姿势稳定性和下肢肌肉活化的即时影响。

方法

这是一个具有重复测量的单节研究。23个健康的老年妇女在三种鞋类条件下（即赤脚，平底鞋和带有创新质感鞋垫的鞋）睁开眼睛，站在坚固的（即水泥地面）和泡沫表面上，持续30秒。在每种测试条件下，均测量了优势腿的股二头肌（BF），股外侧肌（VL），胫前肌（TA）和腓肠肌外侧（LG）的静态姿势摇摆和肌肉激活。

结果

与坚硬的表面相比，站在泡沫上可以显着增加身体的摇摆和下肢肌肉的活化（p <0.05）。当站在泡沫上时，与赤脚相比，穿鞋明显减少了VL和TA肌肉的激活，并使内侧，外侧和前后方向上的姿势摇摆最小化，而结节性带状小腿的鞋的影响比普通鞋大。鞋子。在坚硬的表面条件下，鞋的静态稳定性和肌肉活化条件之间没有显着差异。

结论

对于年长的女性，鞋类可以改善不稳定表面中的姿势稳定性，尤其是具有结实鞋垫的鞋类，其潜在机制是增强脚底表面的机械感受器。