New Model Shows Importance of Feet, Toes in Body Balance
From: OSU News -03/10/2011
By: Jessica Orwig 

Ohio State University researchers have developed a computational model to
study how foot and toe strength affect human balance, which could lead to new
robotic body parts and advanced prosthetics. Many previous balance studies
have focused on the legs and upper body while ignoring the feet and toes,
says Ohio State professor Hooshang Hemami. "In order to reduce the complexity
of the problem, the feet are often either neglected or modeled using simple
shapes that don't really give full credit to the importance of feet," Hemami
says. He and colleague Laura Humphrey designed a computer model that divided
the foot into four separate sections and used it to conduct balance tests.
The researchers simulated subjects with diminished toe strength by weakening
different sections of the foot in the computer model, focusing primarily on
the muscle located above the big toe, which helps control the foot's arch and
provides support to the body while standing. The results showed that the toes
become increasingly important as the subject leans forward. Computer
simulations of healthy subjects were able to lean forward to about 12 degrees
from vertical, while the computer simulations of those with diminished toe
strength were only able to lean forward to about 10 degrees from vertical. 

Read the entire article at:
http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/footbalance.htm

Links:
Hooshang Hemami
http://www2.ece.ohio-state.edu/~hemami/
http://www2.ece.ohio-state.edu/aboutus/indiv_faculty/hemami.html
http://ece.osu.edu/people/hemami

A computational human model for exploring the role of the feet in balance
  (abstract) 
http://www.jbiomech.com/article/S0021-9290(10)00412-4/abstract