• Journal of the Korean Society of Physical Medicine
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• v.5 no.3
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• pp.445-453
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• 2010

Purpose : The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of pelvic tilt exercise with changing the body position on foot contact pattern in the hemiplegic patients. Methods : Thirty seven hemiplegic patients were randomly divided 3 groups; control group (CG), sitting exercise group (SIEG) and standing exercise group (STEG). F-mat system and F-scan system were used for the measurement of foot contact pattern of hemiplegic side in walking. Data were analyzed statistically using paired t-test and one-way ANOVA. Results : The results were as follows : 1) Contact area of CG and SIEG were not significant difference in walking. Contact area of STEG was significant increased in walking. 2) Anteroposterior distance of COP of SIEG and STEG were significant increased in walking. Conclusion : These results suggest that pelvic tilt exercise in sitting and standing position are effective in the improvement of Anteroposterior distance of COP and gait stability are increased in only standing position.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.23-32
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• 2019

Objective: The aim of this study was to provide kinematic data on the characteristics of spinal disease patients by comparing and analyzing kinematic variables related to foot balance and gait pattern of spinal disease. Method: The subjects of the study included 40 adult men and 60 adult women who visited the hospital in Busan. Patients who were diagnosed with spinal disease by a physician through X-ray examination were selected as subjects for the diagnosis of vertebral disc herniation, spinal stenosis, spinal disease diagnosed with spinal disease and the general public. Left and right foot pressure and contact area were checked by Gaitview pro meter. X-ray photographs were taken with a Zen-2090 mobile fluoroscopy under physicians' direct participation. One-way ANOVA was performed to compare the differences between the kinematic variables and post-hoc was performed by the Duncan method. Results: The difference in contact area between the left foot and the right foot was $115.30{\pm}14.15cm^2$ in the left side and $124.25{\pm}13.65cm^2$ in the left side in the spinal disease patients. The difference in pressure between the left and right side of the spinal disease patients was wider than that of the general people. Especially, the right side of the spinal disease patients showed a larger area of left foot contact than the general population. Conclusion: Spinal disease patients have wider contact area of the left foot than those of the general population. In the case of right spinal disease, the left foot support area is widened due to pain. In the gait, women showed slightly more posterior body center than men, and the upper body muscle imbalance and immobilization due to the spinal disease caused imbalance of the muscles moving to the lower limb, It was analyzed to inhibit movement.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.23 no.1
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• pp.12-17
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• 2013

This paper presents a model of bipedal leg mechanism with a compliant foot, and the contact repulsion of the foot for a typical walking pattern and its influence on the knee and hip joints of the leg will be analyzed. This analysis is useful for us to figure out the physical impact of the foot when a walking robot takes a step. Also it can be applied to determine the joint specification of the leg mechanism. As a result, it is shown that the compliance characteristics of a robotic foot can contribute to alleviate the joint torques of the leg affected by the contact repulsion of the foot.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.22 no.3
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• pp.49-53
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• 2010

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the plantar pressure distribution between the affected and unaffected side in adult hemiplegia during gait with the use of a quad-cane. Methods: Thirty-four stroke patients from 34 to 83 years of age were enrolled in this study, and in random order, all patients were asked to walk at their most comfortable speed three times along a walkway with the use of quad-cane over a period of three days. Plantar pressure distribution was measured with regard to foot contact pattern and center of pressure (CoP) trajectories during the stance phase, progressing from heel-strike to toe-off. The F-scan system was used to compare the foot pressure of the affected and unaffected sides. Results: A significant reduction in the total contact area, the width of fore foot (FF) and hind foot (HF), and anterior/posterior (AP) CoP trajectory of the affected side was found. However, contact pressure of the hind foot on the affected side during walking increased when compared to that on the unaffected side. Conclusion: We demonstrated that plantar pressure distribution on the affected side of adult hemiplegia patients was generally poorer than that on the unaffected side when these patients walked with cane assistance. However, the use of a quad-cane was shown to increase contact pressure of the hind foot on the affected side because weight can be borne on the affected side during heel-strike with use of the cane.

• The Journal of Korean Physical Therapy
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• v.9 no.1
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• pp.127-145
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• 1997

The purpose of this study wa9 to analyse the gait patterns of two female children with hemiplegic cerebral palsy by using the three-dimensional video motion analysis technique. Case 1 has mild spastic hemiplegia on the right side while Case 3 has moderate spastic hemiplegia on the left side. A group of 10, normal female children of the same age(7-8 years old) were selected as the control group for comparison. Time and distance variables as well as the Center of Mass displacement, and the pelvic and joint motions in three anatomical planes were analysed for this purpose. The following observations were made through the analysis : Case 1 revealed an asymmetrical gait pattern in which the step length of the unaffected side was shorter than that of the affected side, which wan a result of the effort to minimize loading on the affected leg by shortening the swing phase of the unaffected leg. Case 1 scored similar phase ratios, cadence and walking velocity to the normal group. A slight posterior tilt of the pelvis was observed throughout the gait cycle. Less hip and knee flexion than the normal group was observed, and demonstrated hyperextension of the knee in the terminal stance phase. The main problem in case 1 originated from the insufficient dorsiflexion of the affected foot during the swing phase. Therefore, Case 1 has difficulty with foot clearance in the swing phase. Usually, this is compensated for by using exessive hip abduction and medial rotation in conjuction with trunk elevation as well as increased vortical displacement of the center of mass. Case 1 revealed a foot-flat initial contact pattern. Case 2 was characterized by a consistent retraction ef the affected aide of the body througout the gait cycle, As a result, an asymmetrical gait pattern with increased stance phase ratios of the unaffected side was observed. In spite of this the step lengths of both sieds were similar. Case 2 scored lower cadence and walking speed than the normal group with lower gait stability. The main problem in Case 2 originated from an excessive plantaflexion of the affected foot which, in turn, rebutted in high hip and knee flexion. Hyperextension of the knee was observed at mid-stance, and execessive anterior tilt of the pelvis throughout the gait cycle was noticed. A gait pattern with high hip abduction and medial circumduction was maintained for the stability in the stance phase and foot clearance in the swing phase. Case 2 revealed a forefoot-contact initial contact pattern.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Intelligent Systems
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• v.23 no.3
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• pp.238-243
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• 2013

This paper analyzes a virtual work of the knee and hip joints of bipedal walking robots. For the purpose, we consider a model of bipedal leg mechanism with a compliant foot and a typical walking pattern. We also check the torque characteristics at the joint space propagated from the space of the foot contacting a flat and stiff surface, and present the works accumulated at the joint space. As a result, it is shown that this analysis is useful for evaluating the fatigue of the leg mechanism by the physical walking contact between the foot and the surface, and it is applicable for improving the compliant characteristics at the foot space by employing a proper footgear.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.67-75
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• 2011

The purpose of this study was to find the difference in gait patterns when elderly and young people walk by analyzing COP, Gait Line, Foot pressure pattern, and ensuring the original biomechanics technology of developing high performance footwear for the elderly. The subjects who took part in the test consist of 20 elderly people and 20 young people. The physical features of the elderly people that were recruited for the study are as below: 20 healthy male subjects(elderly people) with an average age of 75.43 yrs(S.D 6.46 yrs), weight of 68.10 kg(S.D 0.94 kg) and a height of 168.65 cm(S.D 1.47 cm). Foot pressure pattern data was collected using a EMED-AT system(Novel Gmbh, Germany) operating at the 50 Hz during walking. The results are as follow : COP route of the elderly leans to lateral compared to the young, and Gait Line from heel to toe is not clear and laterally curved. At the same time, a contact are aonthe midfoot is high compared to the young, and maximum force of the forefoot is low. As a result of analysis, in order to develop high performance footwear for the elderly, it is necessary to develop lasts and soles reflecting the elderly's gait patterns.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.22 no.1
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• pp.113-121
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of forefoot rocker shoes equipped with a metatarsal bar on lower extremity muscle activity and plantar pressure distribution. Ten healthy women in the age of twenties were participated in this study as the subjects. All subjects walked on a treadmill(Gait Trainer, BIODEX, USA) wearing normal shoes and metatarsal bar shoes, during which the plantar pressure distribution and muscle activity were measured. Using Pedar-X system(Novel Gmbh, Germany), the plantar pressure was measured for six regions of the foot: forefoot, midfoot, rearfoot, 1st metatarsal, 2-3th metatarsal, and 4-5th metatarsal, and for each sub-region, 4 features such as maximum force, contact area, peak pressure, and mean pressure were analyzed based on the plantar pressure. EMG(Electromyography) activity was measured by attaching surface electrodes to the rectus femoris, biceps femoris, tibialis anterior, and gastrocnemius medial head, and magnitude of muscle contraction was analyzed in IEMG(Integrated EMG) value. The results show that the maximum force, contact area, peak pressure, and mean pressure in the midfoot all increased while maximum force, peak pressure, contact area, mean pressure in the 1st metatarsal and 2-3th metatarsal all decreased when wearing functional shoes. Also, muscle activities in the four muscles were all decreased when wearing the functional shoes. This paper suggests that forfoot rocker shoes equipped with a metatarsal bar can help disperse the high pressure and absorb the shock to the foot as well as give positive influence on gait pattern and postural stability by reducing muscle fatigue during walking.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.659-665
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• 2010

This paper proposes a control algorithm for quadruped robots moving on irregularly sloped uneven surfaces. Since the body balance of a quadruped robot is controlled by the forces acting on its feet during touchdown, the ground reaction force (GRF) is controlled for stable running. The desired GRF for each foot is generated on the basis of the desired galloping pattern; this GRF is then compared with the actual contact force. The difference between the two forces is used to modify the foot trajectory. The desired force is realized by considering a combination of the rate change of the angular and linear momenta at flight. Then, the amplitude of the GRF to be applied at each foot in order to achieve the desired linear and angular momenta is determined by fuzzy logic. Dynamic simulations of galloping motion were performed using RecurDyn; these simulations show that the proposed control method can be used to achieve stable galloping for a quadruped robot on irregularly sloped uneven surfaces.

• Korean Journal of Applied Biomechanics
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.189-198
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• 2021

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of biomechanical variables on gait according to indoor and outdoor environmental conditions in elderly women at risk of falling. Method: 26 elderly women aged 70 years or older, and consisted of 13 elderly people with a walking speed of less 1.0 m/s and 13 people in the fall risk group as normal groups. Depending on the purpose of the study, physical examination and psychological questionnaire were prepared, and then walking was performed in an indoor/outdoor environment, and the gait pattern, muscle activity, and plantar pressure results were compared and analyzed in the elderly females through a 2 group × 2 environment 2-way repeted ANOVA analysis. Results: The gait variable showed an interaction effect the cadence. The muscle variables showed interaction effects in the rectus femoris and tibialis anterior muscles, and the interaction effects of the plantar pressure variables were confirmed in the forefoot and midfoot of the contact area, and the midfoot of the mean pressure. Conclusion: These results indicate that both groups are exposed to falls risk when gait in an outdoor environment, but the fall risk group has a higher risk of falls in both the gait pattern, muscle activity, and plantar pressure variables. The results of this study are considered to be helpful as basic data and development of exercise programs to prevent falls.