The Role of Arch Compression and Metatarsophalangeal Joint Dynamics in Modulating Plantar Fascia Strain in Running

McDonald, Kirsty A.; Stearne, Sarah M.; Alderson, Jacqueline; North, Ian; Pires, Neville J.; Rubenson, Jonas

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0152602

Cited by 105 publications

(126 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Recently, McDonald et al (2016) and Wager and Challis (2016) used 3-D musculoskeletal modeling to argue that the plantar aponeurosis is a major site of elastic energy storage during running. Furthermore, Kelly et al (2015) found evidence that the intrinsic foot muscles also stretch actively to absorb energy in the first half of stance during running, potentially storing energy that could be released when they shorten in the second half of stance.…”

Section: Elastic Energy Storage and Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking the evolution of the human foot: insights from experimental research

Holowka

Lieberman

2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

106

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Adaptive explanations for modern human foot anatomy have long fascinated evolutionary biologists because of the dramatic differences between our feet and those of our closest living relatives, the great apes. Morphological features, including hallucal opposability, toe length and the longitudinal arch, have traditionally been used to dichotomize human and great ape feet as being adapted for bipedal walking and arboreal locomotion, respectively. However, recent biomechanical models of human foot function and experimental investigations of great ape locomotion have undermined this simple dichotomy. Here, we review this research, focusing on the biomechanics of foot strike, push-off and elastic energy storage in the foot, and show that humans and great apes share some underappreciated, surprising similarities in foot function, such as use of plantigrady and ability to stiffen the midfoot. We also show that several unique features of the human foot, including a spring-like longitudinal arch and short toes, are likely adaptations to long distance running. We use this framework to interpret the fossil record and argue that the human foot passed through three evolutionary stages: first, a great ape-like foot adapted for arboreal locomotion but with some adaptations for bipedal walking; second, a foot adapted for effective bipedal walking but retaining some arboreal grasping adaptations; and third, a human-like foot adapted for enhanced economy during long-distance walking and running that had lost its prehensility. Based on this scenario, we suggest that selection for bipedal running played a major role in the loss of arboreal adaptations.

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Section: Elastic Energy Storage and Releasementioning

confidence: 99%

Rethinking the evolution of the human foot: insights from experimental research

Holowka

Lieberman

2018

Journal of Experimental Biology

106

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“…For example, muscle hypertrophy in the foot may induce modifications of foot arch height, which may help store the elastic energy absorbed by the MTP joint during the stance phase of sprinting, and subsequently enhance the plantar flexor moment via increasing MTP joint moment using the returned energy during push-off phase. 6,7,22 Thus, further studies are needed to examine the relationships among the length of the forefoot bones, size of the foot muscles, and foot proportions such as foot arch height. Finally, we determined that, in sprinters, the forefoot bone length is related to sprint performance, with faster sprinters having longer forefoot bones than slower sprinters.…”

Section: T a B L E 2 Physical Characteristics Andmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…[1][2][3] Moreover, it has been proposed that the elastic energy returned in the form of the MTP joint moment can partially utilize the enhancement of plantar flexor moment during push-off phase. [4][5][6][7][8] Thus, while the MTP joint is a relatively small joint, its moment during sprinting may be related to superior sprint performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Relationship between the length of the forefoot bones and performance in male sprinters

Tanaka

Suga

Otsuka

et al. 2017

Scandinavian Med Sci Sports

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Although recent studies have reported that the forefoot bones are longer in sprinters than in non-sprinters, these reports included a relatively small number of subjects. Moreover, while computer simulation suggested that longer forefoot bones may contribute to higher sprint performance by enhancing plantar flexor moment during sprinting, the correlation between forefoot bone length and sprint performance in humans has not been confirmed in observational studies. Thus, using a relatively large sample, we compared the length of the forefoot bones between sprinters and non-sprinters. We also examined the relationship between forefoot bone length and performance in sprinters. The length of forefoot bones of the big and second toes in 36 well-trained male sprinters and 36 male non-sprinters was measured using magnetic resonance imaging. The length of forefoot bones in the big and second toes was significantly longer in sprinters than in non-sprinters. After dividing the sprinters into faster and slower groups according to their personal best time in the 100-m sprint, it was found that the forefoot bone length of the second toe, but not that of the big toe, was significantly longer in faster group than in slower group. Furthermore, the forefoot bone length of the second toe correlated significantly with the personal best time in the 100-m sprint. This study supported evidence that the forefoot bones are longer in sprinters than in non-sprinters. In addition, this is the first study to show that longer forefoot bones may be advantageous for achieving superior sprint performance in humans.

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“…The developed intrinsic foot muscles may cause the increase of foot arch height, and the increased foot arch height may be useful to create the foot with long forefoot bones. Additionally, previous studies determined that the absorbed energy in the MTP joint during running may be stored within the plantar aponeurosis, and this energy may be utilized as elastic energy [12,26]. The increase of the external MTP joint moment related to longer forefoot bones may result from development of the plantar aponeurosis because of increased eccentric and concentric moments.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Of those, larger ankle plantar flexor moments play an important role in achieving higher running performance compared to other lower limb joint moments [9,15]. The metatarsophalangeal (MTP) flexor moment in the foot contributes to enhancing the plantar flexor moment [1,10], potentially by storing and then returning the elastic energy during human locomotion, including running [2,8,12,21,26]. Thus, despite being a relatively small joint, the MTP joint moments may play a significant role in superior running performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Association between Forefoot Bone Length and Performance in Male Endurance Runners

et al. 2018

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Recently, we reported that the forefoot bones were longer in sprinters than in non-sprinters, and that longer forefoot bones correlated with higher sprint performance in sprinters. To further understand the superiority of long forefoot bones in athletic performance, we examined whether forefoot bone length was associated with running performance in endurance runners. The length of the forefoot bones of the big and second toes were measured using magnetic resonance imaging in 45 male well-trained endurance runners and 45 male untrained subjects. After normalization with the foot length, it was found that the forefoot bones of the big and second toes were significantly longer in endurance runners than in untrained subjects (P<0.05 for both). Furthermore, longer forefoot bones of the big toe, but not of the second toe, correlated significantly with better personal best 5000-m race time in endurance runners (r=-0.322, P=0.031). The present findings demonstrated that forefoot bones were longer in endurance runners than in untrained subjects. These findings were similar to our findings for sprinters. In addition, we found that longer forefoot bones may be advantageous for achieving higher running performance in endurance runners.

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The Role of Arch Compression and Metatarsophalangeal Joint Dynamics in Modulating Plantar Fascia Strain in Running

Cited by 105 publications

References 42 publications

Rethinking the evolution of the human foot: insights from experimental research

Rethinking the evolution of the human foot: insights from experimental research

Relationship between the length of the forefoot bones and performance in male sprinters

Association between Forefoot Bone Length and Performance in Male Endurance Runners

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