In vivo thickness and dynamic behaviour of the heel fat pad during ageing: biomechanical and anthropological impact of footwear.

老化过程中脚跟脂肪垫的体内厚度和动态行为：鞋类的生物力学和人类学影响。

• 批准号: MR/Y010140/1
• 负责人: Kristiaan DAout
• 金额: $ 42.73万
• 依托单位: University of Liverpool
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Research Grant
• 财政年份: 2023
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2023 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=MR%2FY010140%2F1
• 关键词: vivo; thickness; dynamic; behaviour; heel

The heel pad is a complex structure between the heel bone and the skin which is important as a shock absorber for healthy gait, and therefore it affects quality of life. However, its ability to do so deteriorates during ageing because its mechanical properties change. It is unclear whether these changes result from ageing as such, and/or from overuse. The former cannot be changed, but the latter can be mitigated by several factors, including footwear.An individual's footwear choice often depends on culture and design, more than on function - known as the shoe's biomechanics - and therefore these are important to consider. This interdisciplinary study will bring together elements of anthropology (what are cultural and design drivers in footwear choice?) with functional anatomy and biomechanics. We will collect laboratory (UK) and field (India, Namibia) data on the properties of the heel pad and assess how they change with ageing and footwear. We will study young and older populations with different footwear use to disentangle the effects of ageing and footwear habits on heel pad properties and gait. Access to sophisticated laboratory equipment in the UK will allow us to use 3D X-Ray video recordings to show how the heel pad deforms during walking barefoot, and in footwear: minimal and cushioned. We will also use MRI to build a 3D foot model including the heel pad, record the motions of the leg and foot, and measure the forces between the substrate and the foot or shoe. We will study a younger (18-40) and an older (60+) population to answer the questions: (1) how do changes in foot function and estimated tissue loading (using Finite Element Modelling) relate to heel pad changes between these groups, and (2) what are the here-and-now effects of various amounts of footwear cushioning?Our field study in India study will address the question: what is the effect of long-term use of footwear? We will answer this by comparing participants that wear shoes daily, to participants who never wear shoes - a considerable sub-population in rural parts of South India. If footwear affects heel pad degradation, we expect to see differences between the two groups, when matched for age and other factors.Our Namibia study will work with participants from the San (Ju|'hoansi bushmen) community, one of the most genetically diverse populations on earth. They display a range of footwear habits from Western-type shoes to indigenous hunting sandals. They also habitually walk on natural substrates. We will investigate whether the relationships between the heel pad and gait are similar between populations. We will also aim to understand some of the reasons behind footwear choice in our populations.In all studies, we will use portable ultrasound imaging to measure thickness and compressibility of the heel pad, an in-house designed strain measurement device to estimate its mechanical properties, video to measure gait, and a wearable data logger to measure foot strike impact and ankle movements. We will assess cultural versus functional drivers for footwear choice through structured interviews.Combined, these studies will allow us to disentangle the effects of ageing and footwear habits on heel pad properties and gait, laying a foundation for understanding the impact of heel pad health, ageing and quality of life. These studies will also support the transition from primarily lab-based, Western biomechanics to a more inclusive, diverse, and interdisciplinary research field. We will develop new knowledge to determine if, and what type of footwear can prevent deterioration of the heel pad during ageing, and if footwear with individually tuned cushioning can help mitigate existing loss in heel pad quality. Doing so will result in better foot function, effective gait, and better quality of life in older people.

脚跟垫是脚后跟骨和皮肤之间的复杂结构，对于健康步态来说很重要，因此会影响生活质量。但是，由于其机械性能发生了变化，因此其这样做的能力会恶化。目前尚不清楚这些变化是否由衰老和/或过度使用导致。前者不能改变，但是后者可以通过包括鞋类在内的几个因素来减轻。一个人的鞋类选择通常取决于文化和设计，而不是功能（称为鞋子的生物力学），因此要考虑这些很重要。这项跨学科研究将通过功能解剖学和生物力学汇集人类学（鞋类选择中的文化和设计驱动因素？）。我们将收集实验室（英国）和菲尔德（印度，纳米比亚）的脚跟垫特性数据，并评估它们如何随老化和鞋类的变化。我们将研究具有不同鞋类使用的年轻人和老年人，以消除老化和鞋类习惯对高跟垫特性和步态的影响。在英国使用复杂的实验室设备将使我们能够使用3D X射线录像带，以显示赤脚行走时鞋跟垫的变形方式，鞋类：最小和缓冲。我们还将使用MRI来构建一个3D脚模型，包括脚跟垫，记录腿和脚的运动，并测量基板和脚或鞋子之间的力。我们将研究年轻（18-40）和较旧的（60+）人群来回答问题：（1）脚部功能的变化和估计的组织负荷（使用有限元建模）如何与这些组之间的脚跟垫变化有关，（2）各种鞋类缓冲的现在和现在的影响是什么？我们在印度的现场研究将解决以下问题：长期使用鞋类的影响是什么？我们将通过比较每天穿鞋的参与者与从不穿鞋的参与者进行比较，这是印度南部农村地区相当大的子人口。如果鞋类会影响脚跟垫的降解，我们希望两组之间的差异在年龄和其他因素时。地球上的种群。他们展示了从西方型鞋到土著狩猎凉鞋的各种鞋类习惯。他们还习惯于自然基材行走。我们将调查脚后跟垫和步态之间的关系是否相似。我们还将旨在了解种群中鞋类选择背后的一些原因。在所有研究中，我们将使用便携式超声成像来测量脚跟垫的厚度和可压缩性，这是一种内部设计的应变测量装置，以估算其机械性能，测量步态的视频以及可穿戴的数据记录仪，以测量脚踏板的影响和踝运动。我们将通过结构化的访谈评估鞋类选择的文化和功能驱动因素。结合起来，这些研究将使我们能够解散衰老和鞋类习惯对高跟垫和步态的影响，为理解高跟垫健康的影响奠定了基础和生活质量。这些研究还将支持从主要基于实验室的西方生物力学到更具包容性，多样化和跨学科研究领域的过渡。我们将开发新的知识，以确定衰老期间脚后跟垫的变化以及哪种类型的鞋类，以及是否具有单独调整的缓冲鞋的鞋类可以帮助减轻脚后跟垫的现有损失。这样做会导致老年人的脚部功能更好，步态和更好的生活质量。