The Effect of Five-Toed Shoes on Electromyographic Activity of Leg Muscles During Stance Phase of Running

Purpose: The current study aimed at evaluating the effect of 5-toed shoes on electromyographic activity of leg muscles during the stance phase of running.  Methods: The current semi-experimental study recorded the electromyographic activity of tibialis anterior, soleus, gastrocnemius lateralis, and medialis muscles of 15 healthy male students (mean age: 24.5±3.4 years, mean height: 177.6±5.8 cm, and mean weight: 75.7±8.9 kg) during the stance phase of running in barefoot and shod (5-toed shoes) conditions. Paired sample t test was used for statistical analysis with SPSS19.  Results: In shod running, electromyographic activity of tibialis anterior during loading response phase (P=0.001) and electromyographic activity of soleus (P=0.002) and medial gastrocnemius (P=0.004) during propulsion phase were significantly higher, compared with the barefoot running; there was no significant difference in gastrocnemius lateralis muscle between both conditions (P˃0.05). Conclusion: According to the current study findings, using 5-toed shoes could increase electromyographic activity of leg muscles during the stance phase of running.