Abstract
Golfers represent a unique situation in terms of postural control, in that during a normal round of golf, players are on their feet for close to four hours. Several golf specific footwear are available. However, little is known about how these types of golf footwear affect neuromuscular control of the lower extremities over prolonged periods of standing and walking. PURPOSE: To examine the effects of duration of walking/standing while barefoot (BF) and wearing a dress shoe (DS), tennis shoe (TS), and minimalist (MIN) style golf shoe, on muscle activity of the lower extremity during standing postural control. METHODS: Six male adults completed this study. Standing balance was recorded under six different conditions: eyes open (EO), eyes closed (EC), eyes open sway referenced vision (EOSRV), eyes open sway referenced platform (EOSRP), eyes closed sway referenced platform (ECSRP), and eyes open sway referenced vision and platform (EOSRVP). Surface electromyography (EMG) was recorded during balance testing from the left leg vastus medialis (Q), and semitendinosus (H). Raw EMG data were collected at 1,500 Hz, Band-pass filtered (20-250Hz) and rectified prior to analysis. Variables of interest were the mean muscle activity (mV) of each muscle. The testing sessions consisted of a counterbalanced allocation of footwear over 4 separate testing days, separated by at least 48 hours. Each session included muscle activity measures during standing balance every 60 minutes, for 4 hours (pre, 60, 120, 180, 240 minutes). A 4x5 repeated measures ANOVA was used, with an alpha level of 0.05. RESULTS: A significant interaction was observed in the EOSRV condition for Q (F(12,60) = 1.945, p = 0.05), suggesting that at 60 minutes, the MIN condition was significantly higher than BF and TS (5.60 > 2.45 & 3.515). Further, a significant interaction was observed in the EOSRP condition for H (F(12,60) = 2.057, p = 0.03). This interaction suggests that at 180 minutes, the DS was significantly higher than the MIN (3.980 > 1.812). CONCLUSION: The current results suggest that standing postural control measures are altered by footwear differences. Over time it appears that some footwear may cause balance strategy changes possibly due to increased workload on the lower extremity.
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