The purpose of this study was to investigate effects of carbon nanotube-based insole on the resultant joint moment and muscle activity of the lower extremity during drop landing. Ten males with no known musculoskeltal disorders were recruited as the subjects. Two digital camcorders and one force plate were used to obtain 3-D kinematics and kinetics of the lower extremity. To assess the myoelectric activities of selected muscles, five surface electrodes were attached to the right side of the lower extremity. For each dependent variable, paired t-test was performed to test if significant difference existed between with carbon nanotube-based insole(CNT) and ethylene vinyl acetate-based insole(EVA) conditions(p<.05). The results showed that average and peak IEMG values from RF, TA, MG, and LG in CNT were lower than corresponding values in EVA. Although no significant difference in resultant joint moment was found between two conditions, a decrease in the knee extension moment was found with CNT. This indicates that wearing carbon nanotube-based insole may help to decrease impact force and to control excessive flexion movement of the knee joint during landing.
