Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

Background: The muscles activity of individuals with flat foot play an important role in identifying the causes of these people’s vulnerability. The rate and pattern of muscles activity depends on the speed of walking and so far, difference in muscles activity of individuals with flat foot and normal during walking with different speeds remains unknown. Therefore, the purpose of this investigation was to compare the muscle activity of shank muscles in flat and normal feet during walking on treadmill with different speeds.
Methods: Study type is descriptive-analytical type.  24 men (12 people with normal foot and 12 people with flat foot) were selected in an accessible way and participated in this applied research. The activities of the Tibialis Anterior (TA) and Gastrocnemius (GA) muscles were collected via Biovision machine when the participants were walking on the treadmill while bare feet and a speed of 1.7 and 3.5 m/s. I Independent t-test was used to examine the significance of the difference between two groups.
Results: The results indicated that there is a significant difference between the two groups in the activities of TA and GA muscles in both walking speeds. TA muscle activity was significantly greater in individuals with flat foot and EMG of GA muscles was significantly greater in individuals with normal foot in the two desired speeds.
Conclusion: The speed of walking affects the amount and pattern of the activity of the shank muscles in people with flat foot and it is likely to be one of the vulnerability factors in these people. The results of this research can be considered in the design of training and rehabilitation programs.