The role of plantar-surface mechanoreception in dynamic balance

这项正在进行的研究计划将提供更好的理解，了解与环境接触的感觉信息是如何实现的，并在运动过程中用于功能平衡反应。长期目标包括对理解人类运动中使用的足底表面感觉的机制做出重大贡献，并为直接或间接涉及脚底表面感觉的鞋类、地板和助行器的设计提供信息。这项建议的短期目标是：1)确定足底感觉状态减少对足底压力变化的影响，以及相关的下肢肌肉活动和关节瞬间/运动产生；2)确定促进足底表面感觉对足底压力的影响，相关的下肢肌肉活动和关节瞬间/运动产生的影响；3)利用上述两个目标的数据和之前为NSERC发现拨款收集的数据，模拟感觉/输入足底压力对功能反应的机制。使用压力、力、运动和肌电数据的同步测量，将研究步态扰动时足部感觉丧失和足部感觉易化对动态平衡的影响。使用个体压力测量、肌电图和反向动力学将压力与功能输出(关节力矩/运动)联系起来，将极大地提高对中枢神经系统如何利用接触压力的理解。其次，使用足底表面还原/促进方法将能够识别由于足底表面感觉的减少/促进，产生对扰动的功能性平衡反应(关节力矩/运动)的肌肉活动的变化。这些对足底压力、肌肉活动和关节动力学的同步测量将为CNS如何利用足底表面感觉信息提供洞察。这些结果将被用作潜在干预措施(促进鞋垫、预测性建模(目标3)、鞋类、地板等)的基础。以解决老年人(与年龄相关)和患者群体(与疾病相关)因脚不敏感而摔倒的问题。

This ongoing research program will provide a better understanding of how sensory information about contact with the environment is realized and utilized into functional balance reactions during locomotion. The long term objectives include substantial contributions to the understanding of the mechanisms of plantar-surface sensation use within human movement and also to inform the design of footwear, flooring and walking aids that involve, either directly or indirectly, plantar-surface sensation. The short term objectives of this proposal are 1) to determine the effects of reduced foot sensation states upon plantar pressure changes, the associated generation of lower limb muscle activity and joint moment/movement production during perturbed gait; 2) to determine the effect of facilitating plantar-surface sensation on plantar-pressure, the associated generation of lower limb muscle activity and joint moment/movement production during perturbed gait and 3) to model the mechanism of sensation/input of plantar pressure to functional responses using data from the two aforementioned objectives and data previously collected for the existing NSERC Discovery grant. Using synchronized measurement of pressure, force, motion and electromyographical data will investigate the effects of the loss of foot sensation and the potential for facilitation of foot sensation on dynamic balance during gait perturbations. The use of individual pressure measurement, electromyography and inverse dynamics to associate pressure to functional output (joint moments/movements) will greatly enhance the understanding of how contact pressure is utilized by the central nervous system. Secondly, the use of plantar-surface reduction/facilitation methods will permit identification of changes, due to reduction/facilitation in plantar-surface sensation, in muscular activity that produces functional balance reactions (joint moments/movements) to perturbations. These synchronized measurements of plantar pressure, muscle activity and joint kinetics will provide insight into how the CNS utilizes plantar-surface sensation information. These results will be used as the basis for potential interventions (facilitation insoles, predictive modeling (objective #3), footwear, flooring, etc.) to address the problem of falls in older adults (age-related) and patient populations (disease-related) due to their foot insensitivity.