<b>Comparison of plantar pressure distribution in subjects with normal and flat feet during gait </b>

• Main Authors: Aluisio Otavio Vargas Avila, Patrik Felipe Nazario, João Otacilio Libardoni dos Santos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina 2010-06-01
• Series: Revista Brasileira de Cineantropometria e Desempenho Humano
• Subjects: Medial longitudinal arch; Flat foot; Navicular drop test; Plantar pressure distribution.
• Online Access: http://www.periodicos.ufsc.br/index.php/rbcdh/article/view/13677/12538

The aim of this study was to determine the possible relationship between loss of thenormal medial longitudinal arch measured by the height of the navicular bone in a static situationand variables related to plantar pressure distribution measured in a dynamic situation. Elevenmen (21 ± 3 years, 74 ± 10 kg and 175 ± 4 cm) participated in the study. The Novel Emed-ATSystem was used for the acquisition of plantar pressure distribution data (peak pressure, meanpressure, contact area, and relative load) at a sampling rate of 50 Hz. The navicular drop testproposed by Brody (1982) was used to assess the height of the navicular bone for classificationof the subjects. The results were compared by the Mann-Whitney U test, with the level of significanceset at p ≤ 0.05. Differences were observed between the two groups in the mid-foot regionfor all variables studied, with the observation of higher mean values in subjects with flat feet.There were also significant differences in contact area, relative load, peak pressure, and meanpressure between groups. The present study demonstrates the importance of paying attentionto subjects with flat feet because changes in plantar pressure distribution are associated withdiscomfort and injuries.