Hip Muscle Activity and Frontal Plane Lower Extremity Kinematics in Long-Distance Runners With Plantar Fasciitis.

Proximal control and lower extremity (LE) movement related to foot function may be an important factor for plantar fasciitis (PF) during running. This study aimed to investigate hip muscle activity and frontal plane LE kinematics during running between long-distance runners with and without PF. The electromyographic amplitude of the hip muscles (tensor fascia latae, gluteus medius, gluteus maximus) and frontal plane LE joint angles (ankle, knee, and hip range of motion during stance phase) of 30 habitually shod long-distance runners (15 with acute PF and 15 healthy controls) were simultaneously recorded using surface electromyography, 8 infrared cameras, and force plates while they ran barefoot at a speed of 3 to 3.67 m·s-1. Independent t test and 2-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the differences for dependent variables. The PF group had significantly lower tensor fascia latae (P = .040, effect size = 0.259) and gluteus medius (P = .014, effect size = 0.197) activation during the swing phase and gluteus maximus (P = .012, effect size = 0.207) activation during the stance phase compared with the control group. Moreover, the PF group showed significantly greater joint angular excursions of the contralateral pelvic drop (P = .049, effect size = 0.75), hip adduction (P = .019, effect size = 0.91), knee abduction (P = .040, effect size = 0.79), and rearfoot eversion (P = .004, effect size = 1.14) during the stance phase than the control group. Adding assessment of hip muscle activity and LE joint angles during running would be beneficial for evaluating runners with PF.