Baseline skin information from the foot dorsum is used to control lower limb kinematics during level walking

The aim of the current study was to explore the role of dorsal foot skin on the joint kinematics of gait during level walking. Twelve volunteers experienced sensory perturbations with either reduced dorsal skin feedback using topical anesthetic, reduced visual feedback of the lower visual field, or a combination of both cutaneous and visual reductions (paired). The visual condition was introduced to impose a greater reliance on skin input (goggles occluded lower visual field input). Our results showed that a reduction in skin input, alone, resulted in significant angular position changes at both the ankle and knee joints through swing (increased flexion, p