Motion analysis based on a multi-segment foot model in normal walking

The foot, an exceedingly complicated system, is essential to move the body forward and to keep dynamic stability during gait. In most previous studies on gait analysis, the foot has been defined as a single rigid segment, which results in many problems to understand the foot motion in detail. The purpose of this study is to develop a multi-segment foot model that can help analyze biomechanics of the foot during gait. A 9-segment foot model with 8 major joints was developed in this study. In addition, it was applied to the 3D motion analysis to determine the kinematics and the kinetics of the foot in the normal walking. Understanding the detailed foot motions by the present multi-segment foot model would be very useful to diagnose patients with various foot diseases.