Horse In Motion: Animated Gif of Sequential Photos

Edweard Muybridge visited the Corcoran Gallery of Art in 1887 to personally make a presentation of his eleven volume “Illustrations of Animal Locomotion”. They later purchased the text. An exhibition titled “Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change”  at the Corcoran displaying Muybridge’s groundbreaking photography and motion studies has just concluded. I had the joy of spending a few hours at the exhibit in close study. As an added and unrelated bonus I was also able to see a new exhibit on the artist Chuck Close.

Artists and scientists have long had an interest in human anatomy and motion. Over the last 50 years, movement and gait have been analyzed using gait plates, computer force distribution systems, electromyogram (EMG) and video. When, where and how did modern analytic methods develop? What was their antecedent? Most textbooks and articles are skimpy at best about much of the early history of the study of locomotion and movement.

The science of  biomechanics has forgotten about the 19^th century developments that made for rapid progress in the last 100 years. The historical memories of biomechanics seem to start in the 20^th century with Morton’s observations, and Elftman, Inman and Mann’s theories. Artists, however, remember Muybridge,  and going further back, it is clear that Michelangelo was deeply interested in anatomy and Leonardo (performed dissections and) wanted to know how everything worked. Along the way to the present, many other artists and scientists studied and observed animal and human movement. But until the late 19^th century there was no technology available to capture data and information of movement.

Edweard Muybridge  (1830-1904) was the first to systematically develop equipment and techniques to photograph the movement of quadripedal and bipedal gait along with a variety of other movements, motions, and human athletic activities.  In 1877 Muybridge was hired by Leland Stanford to demonstrate that all 4 limbs were off the ground at one point during the trotting gait of a horse. Muybridge developed an automatically triggering electronic shutter. In 1878, Muybridge hooked up a series of about a dozen cameras to automatically and sequentially fire and record the gait of a horse.  While exposures at that time were often several minutes long, the 12 exposures occurred over about half a second.  A highly contrasting, light background was designed to enhance the image. A numbering system was used which gave positional and, indirectly, timing information. Stanford ultimately won his bet and was able to use Muybridge’s photographs to demonstrate that all of the horses feet left the ground during a trot.

Out of the studies of motion that Muybridge did came several breakthroughs that were noted by Rebecca Solnit in “River of Shadows”.

1)   An electronic automatically triggered shutter, which Muybridge felt would revolutionize photography.

2)   Advances in plates and development which could capture movement and allowed for capture of an image in less time than anyone had accomplished previously.

3)   Capturing of several images that could be mounted together to represent a cycle of motion (such as a gait cycle) rather than a single isolated moment.

4)   The possibility of sequencing and showing an image sequence as a moving picture to reanimate the movement as a moving picture.

The first and second breakthroughs were accomplished in 1877, the other breakthroughs came in 1878 and 1879. It took celluloid and other much later developments to bring a motion picture industry to life. But both the methodical study of movement and a film industry had their beginnings with the work of Muybridge.

Early technology was so bad that images were often barely discernable and had to be painted in. In some cases the images were filled in and then re-photographed by Muybridge. (The equivalent of photoshopping your work today.) Ultimately, however, Muybridge recorded many sequences of activity making up  about 11 volumes. The complete set of volumes was sold to the Corcoran museum in Washington, DC in the 1890’s for $600.

Stanford published a text on the movement of animals , while Muybridge was lecturing in England and employed by a professional society. Many images drawn after Muybridge’s plates and several of his images were used while the text gave Muybridge no credit for the work.

Muybridge’s work has often been discounted as merely “art”, but it was an important qualitative look at movement. Diagrams in modern texts detailing varieties of normal and abnormal gait look like they were sketched from his plates or photographed using methods similar to his. He influenced many artists, worked with Thomas Eakins and inspired Marcel Duchamp to paint “Nude Descending A Staircase“. Clearly there is inspiration, emotion, and art in his work, but using the scientific analysis and invention he was at the forefront in creating techniques that were later used to quantify motion and gait analysis. His text “Animals In Motion” has long been used by illustrators to draw sequences which when put together will stream as a moving animal. His work had great impact on animation and led to the development of film. Look for more details on Muybridge on my main website in the near future.

The Helios exhibit will next be seen at the Tate Britain in London from September 8, 2010 through January 16, 2011, and will finish at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from February 26 through June 7, 2011.

References:

River of Shadows: Eadweard Muybridge and the Technological Wild West. Penguin Books. 2003.

Helios: Eadweard Muybridge in a Time of Change. Philip Brookman. Corcoran Gallery of Art. 2010. (Exhibit and Catalog)

Picturing Time: The Work of Etienne Jules Marey. Marta Braun. University of Chicago Press: 1992.

Muybridge Motion Study

Sense and Sensibility

Note: There are several comments, but the interface on word press blogs will only show them if you click on the title and view only this blog entry.

The media seems to have decided that barefoot running is the trend that can’t be stopped, and should perhaps be encouraged. “Throw away your shoes” seems to be the dominant theme, if not the only thing we hear. And no one wants to stand against the tide and seek balance.  I’ve run barefoot on the beach for miles, and enjoyed it. And I’ve done that for years starting in middle school. During high school, I enjoyed barefoot running along the beach during the run up to soccer season. And, even at that time professional football teams were said to do the same. But the current persistent hyping of barefoot is as balanced as are the discussions on health care reform. Some years back, HMOs were touted as the solution to all of our health care needs. But, they aren’t singing that tune any more.

Now we are told that we evolved to run barefoot. Shoes are tiny coffins for feet and have stopped evolution. Tiny coffins that stopped evolution? Really? Evolved to run barefoot? Well, yes we did evolve to run barefoot. But we’ve had 30,000 years to develop body coverings and improved aids to motion, comfort and speed. We’ve made shoes – one shoe fits either foot, domesticated horses (and even tamed elephants) to catch  a ride, added lifts to our sandals to move faster in battle (Caesar), made steam and coal powered engines for trains, boats, sailboats, steam boats, shoes – designed for right or left foot, made cars, bicycles, airplanes and rocket ships that have carried us to the moon.

We’ve gone from eating nuts and greens to meat and back to nuts and greens. We’ve made other aids like glasses, robot flown drones, satellites to explore the rest of the solar system. But wait, did we evolve for this? Or is it wrong? Should we be barefoot and living in trees or in caves? Could we run faster without shoes?

It is said that shoes don’t help prevent injuries. But does running barefoot? Does wearing “unbalanced” shoes help? Do those shoes help you burn more calories? One person’s opinion quoted in the NY Times was that they did, they made her legs sore, so they must burn more calories. To me, that just shows that she overdid it and was a victim of the “terrible too’s” – too far, too fast, too soon, (too often and too little rest).

Could we run faster without shoes? Since 1960, only at the Mexico City Olympics,  has the Olympic marathon been won as slowly as Abebe Bikila ran it while winning in Rome in what was a world record time in 1960 (2:15:16, an impressive time). In 1964, Bikila wore (Puma running) shoes in Tokyo, ran faster, and set another world record. He took 3 minutes off of his previous world record, running 2:12:11. The current world record of 2:03:59 is held by Haile Gebrselassie, who does wear shoes while racing. Of course the shoes the elite runners wear during races are usually racing flats. During training, there will be some variety, and some elite runners incorporate barefoot drills into their regimen.

Running barefoot should strengthen the intrinsic muscles of the foot. Those are the muscles that start in the foot and end in the foot. It could also have a strengthening effect on muscles in the leg. And for those who do need more support, it could have these muscles working harder than they should and not feel very good. Running barefoot or with minimalist shoes helps balance and joint position sense. Over cushioned shoes are distinctly bad for joint position sense (proprioception).  So yes, running shoes can cause many problems through bad fit, bad design, mismatch of foot to shoe, and in many other ways. That has been the subject of many lectures and articles. Unfortunately, there no longer seems to be a balance in approach to shoes versus barefoot, when it should be shoes and barefoot.

Looking at 30,000 (ya) year old to 2 (mya) million year old bones will tell you where we’ve been, but won’t tell you where we are as a species now. Wired magazine had a recent article quoting a renowned anthropologist who felt that running barefoot was the way to go, and that evolution would have taken care of plantar fasciitis and runner’s knee. Unfortunately, that may be a nice hypothesis, but we are all built differently and have different needs. Some are knock kneed, some are bow legged, some legs are just right. Some people have high arches, some have low, and some are just right. Some of us have 20/15 vision and can fly jets, others could run barefoot and naked in the sun without sunscreen and never get a melanoma, but that is not wise for most of us. Some can run a marathon in 2:05, others in 3:05 or 5:05, but there are vast differences between them.

In evolution there are many expressions of genes called “phenotypes”. There is no one size fits all. Regarding melanoma, skin color and vitamin D, an excellent example of evolution is apparent. With Africa the presumed origin of the genus homo, migration from Africa led to genetic (genotype) changes in the genes that affected melanin. Putting it simply, the northerners had a mutation that led to less melanin in the skin and a lighter mutation. This allowed for better absorption of UV and production of Vitamin D in the northern climes (less light, less intense solar impact). It is another example of differences through evolution and adaptation to the environment with survival of those best suited to the environment.

While some wonder if human evolution has stopped, many believe it continues in many ways. Social relations, altruism, tribalism, and many things have deep roots, but also morph and change. There are differences between us and among us. We all aren’t prepared to comfortably run barefoot. But some of us are. Those who are and those who want to should start slowly with a few minutes and gradually build on that. Don’t look at it as necessarily a cure all for everything. It will feel great for some, and not so great for others. It may solve some problems in some, it may create problems or not solve problems in others. So, no, I am not claiming that barefoot is all good, all the time, for everyone. And I’m not claiming that barefoot is awful,  bad for everyone, something for everyone to avoid, always. (There is no simple answer, there are few informative studies. But, to quote Leigh Peele with her classic and often used statement “it depends“).

On the subject of barefoot running, my views have evolved. My first interview on this topic was with a journalist who wanted everything black and white and refused to accept the possibility that in my opinion some may have a foot better designed for barefoot running than others. There was a refusal to accept that while I didn’t think barefoot was all good, I didn’t think it was all bad. The quotes used in that article didn’t reflect a nuanced approach but were couched as a warning not to run barefoot. This was not what I felt was correct for all. Not long after that another journalist got it right. I pointed the second journalist to the same barefoot subject pictured in the first article. The runner was shown with beautiful “C” shaped, mud covered feet after completing his first marathon barefoot. She wrote about it in the Orlando Sentinel, along with suggestions on how to start barefoot running. (The Philadelphia Inquirer and Washington Post within the past few months had recent quotes on starting barefoot running slow and easy and a little at a time in the context of a review of “Born To Run”.)

But, as we look at the one size fits all solution, we see a trend in approaches to a variety of injuries. While many years ago, people were told to stop running, they then were told that almost all injuries came from foot problems. Now it is core weakness. No one solution fits all problems. Each problem is really solved only by a “total approach” that looks at the injury in a multi-faceted way, and looks for what changes can be made in training, equipment, muscle imbalances, stretching and strengthening. One “fix” is not enough to get it right.

Insulin is a nice medicine. We don’t all need to inject it though. L-Dopa is good for Parkinsons, but we all don’t need to take it as a supplement.  Prozac is helpful for many, running does it for others. One size doesn’t fit all, nor does one solution.

NY Times Article

Best quote:

“In 95 percent of the population or higher, running barefoot will land you in my office,” said Dr. Lewis G. Maharam, medical director for the New York Road Runners, the group that organizes the New York City Marathon. “A very small number of people are biomechanically perfect,” he said, so most need some sort of supportive or corrective footwear.”

Pithy quote:

“The shoe arguably got in the way of evolution,” said Galahad Clark, a seventh-generation shoemaker and chief executive of the shoemaker Terra Plana, based in London. “They’re like little foot coffins that stopped the foot from working the way it’s supposed to work.”

Related Posts:

Comments on Chris McDougall’s fine book at http://www.drpribut.com/blog/?p=325

Bipedal Beginnings: http://www.drpribut.com/blog/?p=331

Evolution and Exercise: What Made the Brain Get Bigger: http://www.drpribut.com/blog/?p=368

Walk This Way: Oldest Bare Footprints – 1.5+ Million Years Old: http://www.drpribut.com/blog/?p=215

For more information and to visit a community forum I recommend the Runner’s World Barefoot Runners Forum with links and discussions on all things barefoot.

Music: Barefoot by Ray Collins Hot Club

To view comments please click on the title of this entry. There are several comments, but we are currently having some interface issues. For more discussion visit the active Runner’s World Forum linked to above.

The current issue of Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise (MSSE) has a study which indicates that the frontal plane force vector of the limb is directed more medially (toward the midline of the body) in those who have sufferred tibail stress fractures. The magnitude of forces in the control group were the same as those in the group that had sufferred injury. The conclusion of the authors was that the direction of the forces may be a contributor in the development of tibial stress fractures. This add a specific biomechanical risk factor for tibial stress fractures.

Within a narrow to medium range of normal this may be very significant. At greater deviations from normal, such as with severe genu valgum or varum (knock kneed or bow legged), my guess is that the forces will be too far away from the affected area to matter. So one day another study, with more extremes will have a different result than the current one. Study design and sample populations play a large role in study results.

Studies have already demonstrated the efficacy of the Pneumatic Walker in aiding and speeding healing of tibial stress fractures. Excessive pronation plays a role in overload of the medial muscles of the leg and also will shift the force vectors medially. Well designed custom foot orthotics should effectively shift the vector laterally and could be useful in preventing recurrence. No one factor alone though should be considered enough. Bone density, calcium and Vitamin D needs, and training must be evaluated.

Already, the warnings are in for avoiding too much, too soon and to allow your body, and your bones to adapt to the stresses you want to place them under. Increase your training slowly, gradually, and carefully and make certain to drop back every 2-3 weeks while increasing the training volume (and load).

References:

External Frontal Plane Loads May Be Associated with Tibial Stress Fracture.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 40(9):1669-1674, September 2008.
CREABY, MARK W. 1,2; DIXON, SHARON J. 2

Clinical Biomechanics  Volume 19, Issue 1, January 2004, Pages 71-77
The role of selected extrinsic foot muscles during running
Kristian M. O’Connor and Joseph Hamill

Effect of Inverted Orthoses on Lower-Extremity Mechanics in Runners.
Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise. 35(12):2060-2068, December 2003.
WILLIAMS , DORSEY S. III 1; MCCLAY DAVIS, IRENE 2 3; BAITCH, STEPHEN P. 4

On the npr website is a spot by reporter Allison Aubrey on this topic. Allison came by earlier this week and interviewed me on foot problems and footgear, along with west coast podiatrist/pilates instructor Colleen Schwartz, DPM. Allison did a great job on putting this story together, is very nice, and has much high quality health information available at the npr site.

NPR Spot on Barefoot, Flipflops & Plantar Fasciitis

Getting Your Avatar Moving Better Than a Monkey

Dr. Bill Sellers of the University of Manchester has just announced that he has made a computer model that demonstrates that tendons are an important structure to store and return energy. Well, this may be big news for my 70 Priest in World of Warcraft, who soon may be modeled to have a bit more spring in his step. Already, my undead priest is able to walk and dance better than the gnomes can, but he is hardly able to run. Now, what does the announcement mean to the rest of us and what did Dr. Bill say about his computer modeling?

“What we’ve found is that muscles are attached to bones by tendons at the end and these tendons are big springs that store energy. If we make a model without tendons, it turns out that it’s rubbish.” Unfortunately a view of the model indicates that it seems to resemble what I imagine his recent model of 5 dinosaurs moving would look like. Dr. Bill did make the news earlier this summer with his announcement that his computer model of T. Rex showed T. Rex was fast as well as fearsome.

Well, a model in which the knee hardly bends while running, no quadriceps is visible, and the longitudinal arch of the foot (and plantar fascia) is not playing a role in gait is also rubbish. Without a computer model, one can see what happens to the gait in which one has a rupture of the Achilles tendon. There is no active propulsive phase. Erdemir et. al. with Neil Sharkey wrote in JBJS in 2004 about how the plantar fascia may transmit the energy stored in the Achilles tendon to the forefoot. The statement about storage of energy in the tendons was most recently made fairly close to the University of Manchester, in the British Journal Nature by Bramble and Lieberman in 2004. “Collagen-rich tendons and ligaments in the leg store elsastic strain energy during the initial, braking part of the support phase, and then release the energy through recoil during the subsequent propulsive phase. To use these springs effectively the legs flex more in running than in walking…” Further back Cagagna, Thys and Zamboni made similar hypotheses in 1976 and Ker et.al. in 1987 wrote an article titled “The spring in the arch of the human foot” which included the foot within the gait model as a place of energy storage. Certainly the running shoe market will soon include energy return systems which mimic the storage system of the plantar fascia via storage within bending plates of metal or plastic rather than “springs”. Computer models must be made to mimic the system they purportedly model and therefore we need tendons present in the model. In other literature they are often modeled and pictured as being the equivalent of a “spring”.

Please note, there is a statement in much of the lay press indicating that gorillas do not have an Achilles tendon. They do, it is, however, much smaller and shorter than that found in humans.

A debate over who was best able to run fast and at what stage of our evolution could we do this is of interest, but another interesting question is when did we figure out that we could set traps for our prey and not run or make weapons, be it a stick, a spear, or a bow and arrow, that would keep us from having to run quite as fast as our prey. Since our sprinting speed can only be sustained for around 15 seconds, at some point our ancestors found that it is not the sprint that helps us, but our intermediate distance running or our endurance running that will allows us catch up and serve up our prey. And better yet, our brain, which will let us run smart, and perhaps, not have to run much at all. Then all our running can eventually evolve to running for pleasure and less to finding food. Hence the evolution of food down to a power bar or a squeezable container of gel.

It is important also to note that much goes into having an upright bipedal gait and at least as much into having a running gait. While many animals are considered to have adapted to more forms of gait than humans, I’d view it as more than just two forms of gait. Just watch a steeple chaser to see more than 2 in just a few seconds. Well, I wasn’t entirely serious about the steeple chaser. I view our different speeds and distances that we cover as contributing to different gait types. These gaits involve different energy systems to power them. A sprint of 100 meters, a sprint of 800 meters, a mile race, and a marathon employ different aspects of our energy systems to accomplish them. While our speed will not overcome most of our competitors, our sagely wisdom, ability to plan and yes, even our intermediate and distance running will have a tremendous impact.

I also like both computers and computer models. I look forward to seeing a quadriceps, gluteal muscles, posterior tibialis muscles and many other factors added into the computer based simulation. Just a few years ago at the Iowa College of Podiatric Medicine I viewed a work in progress: a simulation of gait using a cadaver limb with the lower limb muscles loaded and pre-programmed to tense at the time in which a normal gait would have them do so. This “action” model nicknamed “Dead Man Walking” was set up so that one could alter the use of the lower limb muscles in a stride. Hopefully more will come of both kinds of studies and those writing about it will describe accurately the work and the words of the author. I plan to seek out more of Dr. Seller’s own words, which are thought provoking, and a bit less of the third party interpretation.

References:

Bramble DM and Lieberman DE (2004) Endurance running and the Evolution of Homo. Nature, 432: 345-352.

Erdemir,A Hamel,AJ, Fauth, AR, Piazza,SJ Sharkey,N
The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery (American) 86:546-552 (2004)
Dynamic Loading of the Plantar Aponeurosis in Walking
Ker, RF et. al. The spring in the arch of the human foot. Nature 325: 147-149 (1987)

Cavagna GA et. al. The sources of external work in level walking and running. J. Physiol. Lond 262: 639-657.

Hicks JH: The foot as support. Acta Anat (Basel) 25: 34, 1955.

Lapidus PW: Misconceptions about the springiness of the longitudinal arch of the foot. Arch Surg 46:410, 1943.

Ward, E et. al. 2003. In Vivo Forces in the Plantar Fascia During the Stance Phase of Gait. Journal of the American Podiatric Medical Association Volume 93 Number 6 429-442 2003