Human Locomotion

Interesting Articles

Dr. Michaud chooses clinically relevant articles & summarizes them for your educational reading pleasure.

Pasapula C, Solomou G, Al-Sukaini A, Liew I, Goetz J, Cutts S. Evaluation of first ray instability using the double dorsiflexion test: A prospective observational case-controlled study. The Foot. 2023 Sep 1;56:102019.

Hypermobility of the first ray has been correlated with a wide range of forefoot conditions, including hallux abductovalgus and second metatarsal head capsulitis. Because hypermobility of the first ray undermines the stability of the entire foot, especially during the propulsive period, quantifying the degree of first ray mobility is extremely important. To date, the only accurate way to quantify first ray mobility is with expensive machinery, which is not available to the typical practitioner...

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Kearns ZC, DeVita P, Paquette MR. Gender differences on the age‐related distal‐to‐proximal shift in joint kinetics during running. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in Sports. 2023 Dec 20.

This is an interesting paper that looked at gender and age-related differences in running biomechanics. Specifically, the authors evaluated running kinematics in middle-aged men and women (average age 57 years old) and compared them to young men and women (average age 28 for men and 30 for women). The authors emphasize that it is important to understand how gender and age-related differences in running biomechanics affect function, as it could allow for the development of improved training...

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Kobayashi T, et al. Morphological and mechanical characteristics of the intrinsic and extrinsic foot muscles under loading in individuals with flat feet. Gait & Posture. 2024 Feb 1;108:15-21.

The relationship between arch height and intrinsic muscles/plantar fascial injury is controversial. Some authors suggest that height of the medial longitudinal arch does not affect function, while others claim it plays an important role in a wide range of injuries. In this paper, researchers from Japan measured cross-sectional area and stiffness of the extrinsic and intrinsic muscles of the feet and planter fascia while people with low or neutral arches loaded their feet at 10%, 50%, and 90%...

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Murcia-Lesmes D, et al. Association between tomato consumption and blood pressure in an older population at high cardiovascular risk: observational analysis of PREDIMED trial. European J Preventive Cardiology. 2023 Nov 24:zwad363.

These researchers measured tomato consumption and followed more than 7000 high-risk participants in a 3-year longitudinal study to evaluate whether or not tomato consumption had any effect on hypertension. Tomatoes were evaluated because they are high in calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, manganese, pantothenic acid, niacin, and phenolic compounds. Tomatoes are also the highest source of lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant with 10 times greater antioxidant capabilities than vitamin E....

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Edwards J, et al. Exercise training and resting blood pressure: a large-scale pairwise and network meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials. British J Sports Med. 2023 Oct 1;57:1317-26.

I previously published a paper called “Novel Exercises and Stretches for Managing High Blood Pressure” that showed diaphragm exercises, holding prolonged static stretches, and performing a few minutes of isometric contractions a few times a week could lower systolic and diastolic blood pressures by 10.4 mmHg and 6.7 mmHg, respectively. In this recent paper Edwards et al. (1) analyzed 270 randomized controlled trials that included nearly 16,000 participants to evaluate the effect different...

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Wing D, et al. Fatness but not Fitness Linked to Brain Age: Longitudinal Changes in Brain Aging during an Exercise Intervention. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023 Oct 17.

Over the past few years there’s been a lot of press suggesting that regular exercise protects not just against a range of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, but it can also keep our brains healthy by slowing down the overall rate of cognitive decline. The authors of this study tested this theory by using MRIs to measure various markers of brain age to evaluate differences in a group of 225 older adults who went through an exercise intervention and compared these findings to a group 260...

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Albright J, et al. Significant Association between a Diagnosis of Hypovitaminosis D and Rotator Cuff Tear, Independent of Age and Sex: A Retrospective Database Study. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2023 Oct 24.

This is an interesting paper for anyone who treats tendon injuries. Most practitioners are aware of the strong connection between fluoroquinolone antibiotics and tendon ruptures, and the connection between type II diabetes and tendon injuries, but more often than not patients presenting for treatment and evaluation of tendon tears do not have their vitamin D levels checked. This is unfortunate because this paper confirms that hypovitaminosis D plays a significant role in the development of...

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Kuehl K, Elliot D, Dreyer H. Effects of Blood Flow Restriction Exercise Training And Protein Supplementation On Muscle Strength and Volume. Med  Sci in Sports  Exerc. 2022 Sep 1;54(9S):315.

The authors of this study point out that nearly 1 million Americans get their knees replaced every year, and this number is going to jump to 3.5 million knee replacements annually by 2030. The authors state “the morbidity and mortality due to disuse associated with this is profound.” The authors took 5 severe osteoarthritis patients who were about to get their knees replaced and had them perform blood flow restriction training 3 times a week for 4 weeks and followed each workout by ingesting...

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Cakar et al. Validity and reliability of hallux valgus angle measurement on smartphone digital photographs. J Foot Ankle Research (2023) 16:70.

I like this article because it shows that downloading the Anglemeter app onto your iPhone allows you to take photographs of your patients’ bunions and measure their hallux valgus angle. This is important as it allows you to monitor progress for specific interventions when attempting to reduce the size of bunions. The authors evaluated reliability of 2 specific smart phone measurements and determined that they had excellent inter- and intrarater reliability, with ICC values over .9. The only...

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Clermont C, et al. Peak plantar pressures in running footwear with increased longitudinal bending stiffness. Footwear Science. 2023;15:S193-5.

These researchers measured plantar pressure distribution through the midfoot, metatarsals and toes as recreational runners ran in 3 different footwear conditions: a control group wearing the flexible Nike Free Run and two experimental conditions in which carbon fiber plates of different thickness were embedded into the control shoe. The running shoes were classified as control, stiff, and stiffest, depending upon which carbon plates were added. Plantar pressure data was collected with 233...

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