Electromyographic Evaluation of the Impacts of Different Insoles in the Activity Patterns of the Lower Limb Muscles during Sport Motorcycling: A Cross-Over Trial

Abstract

Customized foot insoles (CFI) have been recognized to reduce the prevalence of foot disorders in sport. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of four types of CFI on the activity patterns of the lower limb muscles (LLM) in healthy people during sport motorcycling. Methods: This was a cross-over trial (NCT03734133. Participants were recruited from an outpatient foot specialist clinic. Their mean age was 33 ± 5.14 years. While participants were sport motorcycling in a simulator, the electromyography (EMG) function was registered for LLM via surface electrodes. Participants completed separate tests while wearing one of four types of CFI: (1) only polypropylene (58° Shore D), (2) selective aluminum (60 HB Brinell hardness) in metatarsal and first hallux areas and polypropylene elsewhere (58° Shore D), (3) ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) (52° Shore A), and (4) standard EVA (25° Shore A) as the control. Results: The activity patterns of the LLM while sport motorcycling showed significantly lower peak amplitude for the selective aluminum CFI than the other types of CFI. Conclusion: EMG amplitude peaks for several LLM were smaller for the hardest CFI (selective aluminum 60 HB Brinell hardness) than the other CFIs (polypropylene 58° Shore D, EVA 52° Shore A, and standard EVA 25° Shore A), except for the fibularis longus in right curves that is increased when the knee touches the road increasing the stability.

Effectiveness of Custom Foot Insoles to Decrease Plantar Pressure: A Cross-over Randomized Trial Study

“…The reported differences support the SEM and MDC, and, thus, were secondary to the use of the proposed insole. These findings were in line with prior studies of our research group, indicating that the use of harder insoles decreased plantar pressures to perform motorcycling [ 8 , 9 , 10 ].…”

“…A limitation in our study is the type of design, where the inclusion of a control group that would improve the findings of this research. Another limitation is associated with influence in plantar pressure and surface plantar area using harder insoles than EVA, such as polypropylene and polypropylene with aluminum in metatarsal heads, employed in previous research [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Additional studies could include this harder insole and would be interesting for future work into the effect of aluminum in metatarsal heads.…”

“…Scientific literature has shown the influence of different hardness of insoles in the plantar pressure distribution in the motorcycle feet, concluding that the use of hard insoles with aluminum in metatarsal heads decreases forefoot plantar pressure and is more comfortable [ 8 ]. On the other hand, recent scientific studies about moto rider musculoskeletal activity in lower limbs and riding on an elite Supersport moto simulator concluded that the use of harder insoles decreased the electromyographic peak activity patterns in all the thigh and hip muscle and all the lower limb muscle except the fibularis longus, due to contact of the knee with the ground in the curve step [ 9 , 10 ].…”

Influence of Different Hardness Custom Foot Insoles in the Electromyography Activity Patterns of the Thigh and Hip Muscles during Motorcycling Sport: A Crossover Study

“…Statistical analyses were performed according to the methods proposed by a prior research study [18]. First, Shapiro-Wilk tests were applied to assess normality of the socio-demographic data and outcome measurements.…”

“…Additionally, the exclusion criteria included: (1) medical trauma and a history of leg problems, (2) musculoskeletal disturbances, (3) vascular diseases, (4) refusal to sign and deliver consent informed document and (5) an inability to understand the protocol to perform our research. Data were collected as previously describe in [18].…”