INVESTIGATION OF THE EFFECT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF INSOLES ON ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC MUSCLE ACTIVATION IN INDIVIDUALS WITH PES PLANUS

Objective: The aim of this study is to examine the effect of prefabricated insoles made of different materials on lower extremity muscle activity in individuals with pes planus and to investigate whether it changes towards the pattern seen in people with normal foot arch. Method: Six individuals with flexible pes planus participated voluntarily in this descriptive and correlational study. The mean age of the individuals was 33.8±11.1 years, height 1.64±0.06 m, mean weight 62.3±7.3 kg, mean Body Mass Index (BMI) 23.1±2.7 kg/m2. Pes planus severity of individuals was measured with Foot Posture Index (FPI) and Clarke angle using podoscope device and footprint method. Activation of the muscles was measured with a surface electromyography (sEMG) device for maximum isometric contraction (MIC) and during walking without insoles, soft (silicone), semi-rigid (polyform) and rigid (steel) insoles at one-day intervals. Results: No significant difference in %MIC values was observed among the insoles, soft (silicone), semi-rigid (polyform) and rigid (steel) insoles within the same phase of gait (p>.05). A significant difference was found between the heel strike (0-10%) phase of gait and the swing (60-100%) phases of gait in terms of %MIC value in the electromyography (EMG) measurement taken from the tibialis anterior muscle with a rigid (steel) insole (p