•  
  •  
 

EXAMINATION OF SAGITTAL ANKLE KINEMATICS IN COMPRESSIVE NON-SLIP SOCKS ON DIFFERENT SURFACES

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Non-slip hospital socks were implemented to reduce slips in clinical settings. However, these socks have not kept pace with the developments of sock enhancements. This study was conducted to investigate differences in maximal plantarflexion and mean sagittal plane kinematics while walking in compressive non-slip socks across common surfaces used in clinical settings. METHODS: Twelve female participants (age 22 ± 2 years; height 1.68 ± 0.04 meters; weight 73.68 ± 15.30 kilograms) completed three walking trials at a self-selected pace for each condition. In randomized order, they walked across either linoleum or rubber surfaces. Data was collected through Vicon and exported to Visual3D for processing. A paired sample t-test analyzed maximal plantarflexion and maximal sagittal angular position during the stance phase. RESULTS: No significant differences were found between maximal plantarflexion (t(11) = 0.43, p = 0.67) and mean sagittal plane kinematics (t(11) = 0.17, p = 0.87). CONCLUSION: The main finding of this study showed that there is no significant difference in sagittal plane ankle kinematics while wearing compressive non-slip socks on rubber and linoleum surfaces. The lack of differences between conditions indicates that common surfaces in clinical settings do not elicit alterations in sagittal ankle gait mechanics, regardless of friction variability. Future studies comparing different types of non-slip socks should be considered to determine which non-slip sock produces optimal walking biomechanics within clinical settings without changing gait kinetics.

This document is currently not available here.

Share

COinS