Knee and Ankle Biomechanics during Squatting with Heels on and Off the Ground, with and without Weight Shifting Article (Faculty180)

cited authors

  • Fox, Jonathan T; Hefzy, Mohamed Samir W M

description

  • Abstract Knee and Ankle Biomechanics during Squatting with Heels on and Off of the Ground, with and Without Weight Shifting Author(s): Jonathan T Fox, Mohamed Samir Hefzy* Various postures are often employed when squatting; the two most common being the Asian Squat, which involves the heels remaining on the ground throughout the squat, and the Catcher’s Squat in which the heels are raised from the ground throughout the movement. Also, during periods of long squatting activities it is common for people to shift their weight to maintain comfort. The purpose of this study was to examine the biomechanics of the knee and ankle joints and the associated muscular activities during deep squatting with and without body weight shifting while the heels were both on and off the ground. Data were collected from eight volunteers using an integrated human motion analysis system. On average lifting the heels off the ground (Catcher’s squat) caused the knee extension moments and the ankle plantar flexion moments to increase compared to keeping the heels on the ground (Asian Squat). EMG data show that the tibialis anterior muscle activities were larger during the Asian squat than during the catcher’s squat. Activities from the medial and lateral gastrocnemius were larger during the catcher’s squat. The hamstrings muscles experienced very little activity during both squats. Shifting weight caused the knee extension moments to increase during both the Asian and Catcher’s squats, but did not significantly change the knee flexion angles. Also, the ankle plantar flexion moments and the maximum ankle dorsiflexion increased with weight shifting during both squats.

authors

publication date

  • 2019

published in

start page

  • 1

end page

  • 9

volume

  • 2