Work

Barefoot vs shod walking and jogging on the electromyographic activity of the medial and lateral gastrocnemius

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: Aim: The aim was to compare the electromyographic activity (EMG) of the medial (MG) and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) when walking and jogging, shod or barefoot. Methods: Twenty-nine participants (age: 25.28±4.53years, height: 171.31±0.76cm, weight: 72.68±6.36kg) voluntarily participated. First, they underwent a static footprint evaluation to be classified based on their arch index (normal, flat, and cooped). After the warm-up, they walked (80-99 steps/min) and jogged (130-150steps/min) for 1min both barefoot and using sports footwear (total of 4 conditions) in random order. EMG activity of the MG and LG was measured. A within-design analysis of variance analyzed differences. The footprint type did not affect the results (p>0.05). Results: Significant effects of the exercise (walk-jog), condition (barefoot-shod), and gastrocnemius analyzed (MG-LG) were found (all p<0.01, ƞp²>0.27), with higher activation levels for the MG in almost all the conditions (p<0.02, d>0.43). The use of sports footwear compared to barefoot resulted in lower activation of the MG in both walking and jogging (p<0.001, d>0.62). Conclusions: Walking and jogging shod or barefoot affect the muscular activation patterns of the gastrocnemius. More specifically, barefoot walking and jogging compared to using footwear elicit higher neural activity on the MG. Additionally, the use of sports footwear reduces differences between the MG and LG.

Source: Journal of Biomechanics

DOI: 10.1016/j.jbiomech.2024.112371