A biomechanical assessment of the lower limb joints in response to ankle plantarflexion and dorsiflexion

This project stems from our 2017 Medical Research Scotland Vacation Scholarship project entitled, “Gender Differences in the Stiffness of the Heel Pad during In Vivo Loading and Unloading”. This year the project focus will entail carrying out a biomechanical assessment of the ankle, knee and hip joints during heel-raise and fore-foot raise movements. The heel region of the foot (heel fat pad) still remains the movitation for this project. The heel fat pad is organised and designed to bear stress and dissipate shock associated with functional activities of daily living such as walking. The experimental setup will involve placing markers on the lower limb while motion capture cameras will be used to record motion patterns of the ankle, knee and hip during the heel-raise and fore-foot raise movements.