Walking shoes for walking and jogging have been used to enjoy lots of leisure time. Functional shoes such as walking shoes have special functions to improve body motility by changing of shoe shapes. The walking shoes could improve the motility by structural transformation of outsole as increase degrees of heel and toe. The study on insoles has not been conducted enough on the contrary of the study of outsole. The purpose of this study is to perform ergonomics analysis whether the Arch Supported insoles have an improving effect of muscle activities or not. Experiments were performed with 6 subjects who are health and haven't experienced any diseases past. EMG(Electromyography) and Foot Pressures were measured repeatedly for 5 seconds at 0 hour, after 1 hour and after 2 hours of walking. Insoles used for experiment are normal insole, insole inserted Arch Support and pad. The electrodes for EMG measurement were set on waist (erector spinae), and thigh (vastus lateralis), calf (gastrocnemius). Evaluations of EMG were analyzed by shift of MF (Median Frequency) and MPF (Mean Power Frequency). Foot Pressure was analyzed by mean pressure of feet and change of walking time. As results, Arch Support insole had larger frequency shift value than that of normal insole. Frequency shift between Arch Support insoles and normal insole showed significant difference on 95% confidence interval. And insole 1 has the highest value of frequency shift. For results of foot pressure, Arch Support insoles show continuous decreasing tendency when comparing with normal insoles by changing of times. Also, insole 1 has the highest decreasing value of foot pressure. Therefore, this study presented that the Arch Support insole can promote muscle activities and improves comfort for a prolonged walking.
Read full abstract