Biomechanical characteristics of the metatarsal part of the foot in swimmers in walking

Abstract

Objective: to investigate the characteristics of the distribution of pressure under the foot during walking in swimmers of various ages and experience.Materials and methods. The study involved swimmers aged 11.4 ± 1.9 years, of both sexes, with at least 4 years of training experience (n = 23) and masters of sports in swimming, 19.3 ± 1.5 years old with 12.2 ± 1.3 years of experience (n = 23). The study used a podometric footscan® platform from RSscan company. Kinematic and dynamic parameters of pressure under the foot during natural walking were recorded. The focus was on the indicators of contact with the support in the zones of the metatarsal part of the foot. The peak pressure value in each metatarsal zone and the time to reach it were taken into account.Results. In the course of the study, the order in which the maximum pressure under the metatarsal zones manifests was understood, which appeared in a sequence: fifth, fourth, first, third and second metatarsal zones. It was found that in young athletes the transverse arch of the foot during walking undergoes a relatively greater load than in older athletes. Moreover, relatively high values were noted in the zones of the second and third metatarsals in both age groups.Conclusions: the swimmer’s foot experiences a significant professional transformation associated with specific sports activities, which dictates the need to introduce certain preventive and corrective measures into sports training.

Keywords

• foot
• gait
• load
• metatarsal zones
• swimmers