Foot Mechanics During Walking With Added Mass

The ankle and foot system is a combination of flexible and adaptable structures. which are analogous to a spring that absorbs/stores and generates/returns mechanical energy during locomotion. Studies have shown that the foot muscles are able to modulate arch compression during static loading conditions. Our aim is to determine how humans modulate foot mechanical work across different levels of added loads (0, 15, 30% body weight). We hypothesized that the structures distal to the hindfoot (i.e., Heel Pad, Arch, MTP) will be able to maintain the same net work output during walking across a series of varying loads