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The intrinsic foot muscles and balance .

Discussion in 'Biomechanics, Sports and Foot orthoses' started by scotfoot, Oct 29, 2016.

  1. scotfoot

    scotfoot Well-Known Member


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    I recently came across a very interesting BSc thesis by a gentleman called Jonathan W .Wallace . The paper is titled
    "Vestibular modulation of the abductor hallucis and abductor digiti minimi muscles in response to changes in head position, visual cues, and cognitive demand " and can be read in full by following the link given below .
    Not much I can really add to the quotations from the paper given below other than to say that if the intrinsic foot muscles are significantly atrophied then their contribution to upright standing balance control will likely be reduced .
    Strengthening the atrophied intrinsics of older people may therefore improve standing balance control .

    Gerry

    from abstract -
    "The purpose of this experiment was to determine if
    intrinsic foot muscles are modulated by vestibular activity and to elucidate any changes in the association between the vestibular stimulation and electromyography (EMG) responses in response to changes in head position, visual cues, and cognitive demand "

    page 7
    "Muscles which are tonically active, but not involved in
    maintaining balance do not exhibit a vestibular myogenic response (Britton et al. 1993;
    Forbes et al. 2015). Therefore, it appears that vestibular-evoked muscle responses only occur in those muscles important to maintaining the upright postural task. "

    page 38
    "The findings of this study demonstrate that the vestibular system is able to
    modulate activity in the abductor hallucis and abductor digiti minimi during standing. "
    " The abductor hallucis and the abductor digiti minimi are likely important
    contributors to upright standing balance control and they are capable of dynamic
    vestibular responses which can be modulated by other sensory feedback as well as by cortical activity. "

    PAPER -----
    VESTIBULAR MODULATION OF THE ABDUCTOR
    HALLUCIS AND THE ABDUCTOR DIGITI MINIMI
    MUSCLES IN RESPONSE TO CHANGES IN HEAD
    POSITION, VISUAL CUES, AND COGNITIVE DEMAND
    by
    JONATHAN W. WALLACE
    A THESIS
    Presented to the Department of Human Physiology
    and the Robert D. Clark Honors College
    in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
    Bachelor of Science
    June 20
    Link
    VESTIBULAR MODULATION OF THE ABDUCTOR HALLUCIS AND ...

    https://scholarsbank.uoregon.edu/xmlui/handle/1794/20383
    by J Wallace - ‎2016
    7 days ago - The purpose of this experiment was to determine if intrinsic foot musclesare modulated by vestibular activity and to elucidate any changes in the association ...
     
  2. Admin2

    Admin2 Administrator Staff Member

  3. NewsBot

    NewsBot The Admin that posts the news.

    Articles:
    1
    Intrinsic foot muscles act to stabilise the foot when greater fluctuations in centre of pressure movement result from increased postural balance challenge
    E.Ferrari et al
    Gait & Posture; 11 May 2020
     
  4. scotfoot

    scotfoot Well-Known Member

    With regard to Ferrari et al 2020 ,I am not entirely convinced that a multi channel grid is the right way to go about investigating the intrinsics and balance .

    A better way might be to record EMG signals with indwelling electrodes in the abductor hallucis and map these against fluctuations in the relationship between the COM and COP .

    So for example , if during single leg stance the COM moves medial to the COP then an DECREASE in abductor hallucis activity might indicate that this muscle is active in fine balance adjustments .

    Think of balancing a broom in the palm of your hand . If the head of the broom ( COM ) moves right of the position of the point where the end of the broom handle tests in your hand ( COP) then you have to move your hand right to keep the COP and COM lined up .
     
  5. scotfoot

    scotfoot Well-Known Member

    From Ferrari et al 2020

    "Postural centre of pressure fluctuations may be driven by extrinsic foot muscles".

    In single leg stance the medial longitudinal arch lifts and falls as part of the balancing process . How can this be achieved by the extrinsic foot muscles , such as the tibialis posterior , if the abductor hallucis is not at least mirroring the tibial posts activation pattern.

    The more I read this paper the less convinced I am about the methodology.

    Any thoughts ?
     
  6. scotfoot

    scotfoot Well-Known Member

    From above ;

    "In single leg stance the medial longitudinal arch lifts and falls as part of the balancing process . How can this be achieved by the extrinsic foot muscles , such as the tibialis posterior , if the abductor hallucis is not at least mirroring the tibial posts activation pattern."

    Or put another way , if the abductor hallucis is contracted and merely contributing to a stable foot configuration by supporting the MLA, then how can the tibialis posterior regulate medial arch height which clearly has a big role to play in medio lateral single leg balance . Makes no sense to me at all .
    If you want to understand the contribution of the intrinsics to dynamic balance look at the abd hallucis ,not the intrinsics en masse .
    These ideas in the Ferrari paper seem to be a step back to the concept of the foot as a block maneuvered by the extrinsic foot muscles .
     
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