ArticleBioinspiration & biomimetics2018
Effect of toe joint stiffness and toe shape on walking biomechanics.
Article in Bioinspiration & biomimetics, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 25 papers.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
25 citing papers in PubMed, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Optimization of Hallux Hyperdorsiflexion and Stiffness through an Individualized Surgical Intervention: A Case Report.Journal of orthopaedic case reports · 2025Article
- Optimizing toe joint stiffness to improve human-like walking.Scientific reports · 2025Article
- Effectiveness of Using a Digital Wearable Plantar Pressure Device to Detect Muscle Fatigue: Within-Subject, Repeated Measures Experimental Design.JMIR human factors · 2025Article
- Inducing asymmetric gait in healthy walkers: a review.Frontiers in rehabilitation sciences · 2025Review
- Effects of using exposure footwear for firemen and fitness training shoes on lower limb biomechanics during walking.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- The effect of including a mobile arch, toe joint, and joint coupling on predictive neuromuscular simulations of human walking.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Human foot form and function: variable and versatile, yet sufficiently related to predict function from form.Proceedings. Biological sciences · 2024Article
- Biomechanical effects of adding an articulating toe joint to a passive foot prosthesis for incline and decline walking.PloS one · 2024Article
- A Bio-Inspired Arched Foot with Individual Toe Joints and Plantar Fascia.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Analysis of Diabetic Foot Deformation and Plantar Pressure Distribution of Women at Different Walking Speeds.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- A lightweight robotic leg prosthesis replicating the biomechanics of the knee, ankle, and toe joint.Science robotics · 2022Article
- Unilateral below-knee prosthesis users walking on uneven terrain: The effect of adding a toe joint to a passive prosthesis.Journal of biomechanics · 2022Article
- The influence of the windlass mechanism on kinematic and kinetic foot joint coupling.Journal of foot and ankle research · 2022Article
- Biomechanical Impacts of Toe Joint With Transfemoral Amputee Using a Powered Knee-Ankle Prosthesis.Frontiers in neurorobotics · 2022Article
- Design of an Underactuated Powered Ankle and Toe Prosthesis.Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference · 2021Article
- Design of 3D printable prosthetic foot to implement nonlinear stiffness behavior of human toe joint based on finite element analysis.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Reducing stiffness of shock-absorbing pylon amplifies prosthesis energy loss and redistributes joint mechanical work during walking.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2021Article
- Effects of Short-Term Limitation of Movement of the First Metatarsophalangeal Joint on the Biomechanics of the Ipsilateral Hip, Knee, and Ankle Joints During Walking.Medical science monitor : international medical journal of experimental and clinical research · 2021Article
- Adding a toe joint to a prosthesis: walking biomechanics, energetics, and preference of individuals with unilateral below-knee limb loss.Scientific reports · 2021Article
- Effects of Novel Inverted Rocker Orthoses for First Metatarsophalangeal Joint on Gastrocnemius Muscle Electromyographic Activity during Running: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study.Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) · 2020Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
During typical human walking, the metatarsophalangeal joints undergo extension/flexion, which we term toe joint articulation. This toe joint articulation impacts locomotor performance, as evidenced by prior studies on prostheses, footwear, sports and humanoid robots. However, a knowledge gap exists in our understanding of how individual toe properties (e.g. shape, joint stiffness) affect bipedal locomotion. To address this gap, we designed and built a pair of adjustable foot prostheses that enabled us to independently vary different toe properties, across a broad range of physiological and non-physiological values. We then characterized the effects of varying toe joint stiffness across a range of different ankle joint stiffness conditions, and the effects of varying toe shape on walking biomechanics. Ten able-bodied individuals walked on a treadmill with prostheses mounted bilaterally underneath simulator boots (which immobilized their biological ankles). We collected motion capture and ground reaction force data, then computed joint kinematics and kinetics, and center-of-mass (COM) power and work. To our surprise, we found that varying toe joint stiffness affected COM Push-off dynamics during walking as much as, or in some cases even more than, varying ankle joint stiffness. Increasing toe joint stiffness increased COM Push-off work by up to 48% (6 J), and prosthetic anklefoot Push-off work by up to 181% (12 J). In contrast, large changes in toe shape had little effect on gait. This study brings attention to the toes, an aspect of prosthetic and robotic foot design that is often overlooked or overshadowed by design of the ankle. Optimizing toe joint stiffness in assistive and robotic devices (e.g. prostheses, exoskeletons, robot feet) may provide a complementary means of enhancing Push-off or other aspects of locomotor performance, in conjunction with the more conventional approach of augmenting ankle dynamics. Future studies are needed to isolate the effects of additional toe properties (e.g. toe length).
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.