TY - JOUR A1 - Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali A1 - Fatollahi, Amir A1 - Granacher, Urs T1 - Eight weeks of exercising on sand has positive effects on biomechanics of walking and muscle activities in individuals with pronated feet T2 - Sports : open access journal N2 - This study aimed to investigate the effects of eight weeks of barefoot running exercise on sand versus control on measures of walking kinetics and muscle activities in individuals with diagnosed pronated feet. Sixty physically active male adults with pronated feet were randomly allocated into an intervention or a waiting control group. The intervention group conducted an 8-weeks progressive barefoot running exercise program on sand (e.g., short sprints) with three weekly sessions. Pre and post intervention, participants walked at a constant speed of 1.3 m/s +/- 5% on a 18 m walkway with a force plate embedded in the middle of the walkway. Results showed significant group-by-time interactions for peak impact vertical and lateral ground reaction forces. Training but not control resulted in significantly lower peak impact vertical and lateral ground reaction forces. Significant group-by-time interactions were observed for vastus lateralis activity during the loading phase. Training-induced increases were found for the vastus lateralis in the intervention but not in the control group. This study revealed that the applied exercise program is a suitable means to absorb ground reaction forces (e.g., lower impact vertical and lateral peaks) and increase activities of selected lower limb muscles (e.g., vastus lateralis) when walking on stable ground. KW - flat foot KW - free moment KW - gait KW - loading rate KW - training Y1 - 2022 UR - https://publishup.uni-potsdam.de/frontdoor/index/index/docId/58972 SN - 2075-4663 VL - 10 IS - 5 PB - MDPI CY - Basel ER -