The purpose of this study is to establish a clinical use of MRI for diagnoses, treatment and follow up of foot pathologies by enabling valid and reliable quantification of muscle volumes. A high-resolution 3T MRI scanning sequence developed through our pilot investigations will be used for serial quantification of the volumes of intrinsic foot muscles and leg muscles in distance runners who transition from running in shoes to barefoot running, thereby allowing volumetric analyses to be associated with biomechanical analyses of these subjects. This study will also demonstrate the clinical validity of using MRI to investigate and manage foot pathologies associated with muscle atrophy e.g. in diabetic neuropathy, aging related atrophy; in addition to athletic populations requiring strengthening of foot muscles.

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