Comparison of Muscle Activity and Timing betweena Custom Shoe with Hydrodynamic Mechanism and Regular Ethylene-Vinyl AcetateShoe

The importance of weight lossand fitness are considering as crucial issue during lifestyle. Therefore,wearing walking shoes can help to reduce plantar pressure in the high-risk areasof the foot. However, safety increasing of muscularactivity and consequently energy consumption when using walking shoes are desirable. The aim of this study was tocompare the muscle activity and timing between a custom shoe with hydrodynamic mechanism and regular Ethylene-Vinyl Acetateshoe. Twelve healthy men were selected for this quasi-experimental study. The custom hydrodynamic shoe was including outer sole with light Ethylene-Vinyl Acetateand also an inner silicon capsule was embedded in Ethylene-Vinyl Acetatesole. Moreover, there was some pathway with the special configuration on the silicon capsule to provide ways for flowing fluid. The shoemaker software version 2016 was used to make the final design of the shoe sole. Electrical muscle activity of the Gastrocnemius, Soleus, palmaris longus, and tibialis anterior activity at 1000Hz sampling rate were measured using the Myonelectromyography system. Subjects randomly worestandard Ethylene-Vinyl Acetate sports shoes and hydrodynamic shoes and then go through the end of the pathway five times with self-selected speed. Onset and offset of muscle activation and an average of the smooth signal during the gait cycle were calculated and normalized based on maximum voluntary isometric contraction. The results indicatedthat gastrocnemius have significantly higher amplitude and the activation time when walking with the hydrodynamic shoe (P=0.02). Because of the important role of this muscle during walking, it seems that hydrodynamic shoe could an important effect forappropriately and safety increase walking economy.