Static and dynamic plantar pressure measurements in adolescents

PURPOSE: The purpose of the present study was to examine changes caused by asymmetric bag carrying methods to carry the bag with one shoulder only to plantar pressure during walking. METHODS: Twenty three normal adults without any gait problem participated in the present study. Experimental conditions used consisted of walking without carrying any bag(condition 1), walking wearing a bag on both shouders (condition 2), and walking wearing a bag on the right shoulder(condition 3) and the weight of the bag was set to 15% of each subject's body weight. All the subjects were instructed to participate in all experiments under these three conditions and plantar pressures were measured from the subjects' right and left feet using an F-scan system while the subjects were walking under the three conditions. To analyze the measured plantar pressure, the sole was divided into seven areas (Hallux, Toe, Met1, Met23, Met45, Mid foot and Heel) and maximum plantar pressures in individual areas were measured. RESULTS: The results of measurement of plantar pressures under three walking conditions did not show significant changes in any areas of the left and right feet except for the mid foot area of the right food. The asymmetry between the left and right feet was examined and the results showed significant differences only in area Met23 under condition 2 and did not show significant differences in any other areas. CONCLUSION: On comprehensively considering the results of the present study, it could be seen that asymmetric bag carrying did not have large effects on changes in plantar pressure during walking compared to symmetric carrying. The reason for this is considered to be posture adjusting mechanisms against load positions.

The aim of the present study was to investigate associations of arch type and gender with plantar pressure distribution in non-diabetic subjects and subjects with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) without peripheral neuropathy (PN). Plantar pressures were recorded in 62 subjects with T2DM but without PN (mean [±SD] age 63.6 ± 7.6 years, body mass index [BMI] 24.3 ± 2.9 kg/m(2) , and duration of diabetes 7.0 ± 3.0 years) and in 63 non-diabetic adults (62.5 ± 8.5 years of age; BMI 22.4 ± 2.5 kg/m(2) ) in static stance using a foot analyzer. Data were collected from both feet and were analyzed for their association with disease, arch type, and gender using the Mann-Whitney U-test and Chi-squared test, respectively. There were significant differences in plantar pressures between the left and right feet in T2DM subjects, regardless of gender, and their metatarsal heads were overloaded. There were poor correlations between the overloaded plantar pressures and both foot arch and gender for all diabetic subjects. However, there were no differences in pressures at different zones between the diabetic and non-diabetic subjects. There were no differences in plantar pressures between non-diabetic and T2DM subjects without PN. Furthermore, there were no significant correlations between plantar pressures in diabetic subjects and either arch type or gender. However, there were significant differences in plantar pressures between the right and left feet.

The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the classification accuracy of early static prereading measures and early dynamic assessment reading measures administered to 600 kindergarten students. At the beginning of kindergarten, all of the participants were administered two commonly used static prereading measures. The participants were then administered either a dynamic assessment featuring an onset-rime decoding strategy or a dynamic assessment featuring a sound-by-sound strategy. At the end of first grade, those same participants’ reading ability was assessed using multiple reading measures. Results indicated that the dynamic assessments yielded significantly higher classification accuracy over the static measures, but that the classification accuracy of the two dynamic assessments did not differ significantly. Sensitivity for the static measures was less than 80%, and specificity ranged from 33% to 51%. The sensitivity and specificity for the dynamic assessments was greater than 80% for all children, with the exception of specificity for the Hispanic children, which was at or greater than 70%. Results also indicated that the combination of static and dynamic measures did not improve the classification accuracy over the dynamic assessments alone. Dynamic assessment appears to be a promising approach to classifying young children at risk for future reading difficulty.

The effect of asymmetry resulting from hemiplegia on the smoothness of a stand-to-sit movement

Plantar pressure distribution in patients with ankylosing spondylitis

Background The plantar soft tissue plays a critical role in absorbing shocks and attenuating excessive stresses during walking. Plantar soft tissue property and plantar pressure are critical information for footwear design and clinical assessment. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between plantar soft tissue hardness and plantar pressure during walking. Methods 59 healthy volunteers (27 males and 32 females, aged 20 to 82) participated in this study. The plantar surface was divided into five regions: lateral rearfoot, medial rearfoot, lateral midfoot, lateral forefoot, and medial forefoot, and the plantar tissue hardness was tested using Shore durometer in each region. Average dynamic pressures in each region were analyzed for the five regions corresponding to the hardness tests. The relationship between hardness and average dynamic pressure was analyzed in each region. Results The average hardness of the plantar soft tissue in the above five regions is as follows: lateral rearfoot (34.49 ± 6.77), medial rearfoot (34.47 ± 6.64), lateral midfoot (27.95 ± 6.13), lateral forefoot (29.72 ± 5.47), and medial forefoot (28.58 ± 4.41). Differences of hardness were observed between age groups, and hardness of plantar soft tissues in forefoot regions increased with age (P < 0.05). A negative relationship was found between plantar soft tissue hardness and pressure reduction at lateral rearfoot, medial rearfoot, and lateral midfoot (P < 0.05). Conclusion The hardness of plantar soft tissues changes with age in healthy individuals, and there is a trend of increasing hardness of the plantar soft tissue with age. The plantar soft tissue hardness increases with plantar pressure.

Effects of duration of wearing high-heeled shoes on plantar pressure

Association between preoperative dynamic plantar pressures and clinical outcomes at 6 months after hallux valgus surgery

Purpose: The study main aim was to compare the cross-sectional area (CSA) and thickness of the plantar muscles and fascia in the hemiparesis and contralateral feet of poststroke survivors with respect to healthy feet of matched controls.Methods: A case-control observational study was performed using B-mode rehabilitative ultrasound imaging. A convenience sampling method was used to select 60 feet. The sample was divided into 20 feet ipsilateral and 20 feet contralateral to the hemiparesis lower limb from poststroke survivors, as well as 20 healthy feet from matched controls. The CSA and thickness of the abductor hallucis, flexor digitorum brevis and flexor hallucis brevis, as well as the thickness for the posterior, middle and anterior plantar fascia portions were measured. Comparisons and multivariate predictive analyses were carried out for ultrasound measurements. In all analyses, a P-value<.01 with a 99% confidence interval was considered as statistically significant.Results: Statistically significant differences (P<.01) were shown for a flexor hallucis brevis thickness increase as well as middle and anterior plantar fascia thickness decrease of the hemiparesis feet and contralateral feet with respect to the healthy matched control feet. The rest of measurements did not show any statistically significant difference (P>.01).Conclusions: The thickness of the flexor hallucis brevis muscle as well as the middle and anterior plantar fascia portions of the hemiparesis and contralateral feet from poststroke survivors presented morphology changes with respect to the healthy matched control feet.

Balance disorders have been poorly investigated and somewhat neglected in people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, especially in children, whose have intrinsic and extrinsic risk factors that may compromise the balance. To evaluate the foot plantar pressures and the balance in children with acquired immunodeficiency. We recruited 53 children aged between 6 and 15 years: 33 healthy children, and 20 children with positive serology for the human immunodeficiency virus. A physical examination included anthropometric, reflexes, tactile sensitivity of the foot and orthopedic evaluation. We also collected data of them using Pediatric Equilibrium Scale, baropodometry, and stabilometry. We considered significance level of 0.05 for statistics. Both groups were aged-, sex-matched and similar body mass index and scores of the Pediatric Equilibrium Scale. Three infected children had altered tactile sensitivity, and none had orthopedic or reflex alteration. Infected children had higher mean plantar pressure in the hindfoot than of the control group (p = 0.02). There was higher maximum plantar pressure in the hindfoot of the infected children than of the controls (p = 0.04). Controls had lower maximum plantar pressure in the forefoot than the infected children (p = 0.04). Infected children had larger displacement of the center of pressure (p = 0.006), larger mean velocity of displacement (p = 0.006), and longer duration between successive peaks of displacement than the controls (p = 0.02). Children living with the human immunodeficiency virus discharges great plantar pressures in the hindfoot and to present balance disturbances in the absence of neurological symptomatology.

The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the clinical efficacy of the Endobutton in combination with medial plate fixation for the treatment of Lisfranc injuries. We analyzed clinical data from 30 patients with Lisfranc injuries between February 2021 and October 2024 to assess foot function using Visual Analog Scale (VAS) score, American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle Society (AOFAS) midfoot scale score, plantar pressure assessment, and weight-bearing imaging. We evaluated patients' postoperative pain and foot function, examined the appearance of the foot for any obvious deformities, assessed plan-tar pressure distribution, and conducted weight-bearing imaging to evaluate the gaps in patients' joints. All 30 patients received effective follow-up for a duration of 12 to 14 months (mean ± standard deviation, 12.92 ± 1.129 months). At the final follow-up, no clinically significant foot deformities were observed, and weight-bearing radiographs demonstrated stable tarsometatarsal alignment without evidence of progressive joint subluxation or displacement. The differences in the first and second tarsometatarsal joints gap distances and VAS and AOFAS scores at 3 months postoperatively and at the final follow-up were statistically significant (P < .05) when compared to the preoperative period. The difference in the results of the plantar pressure test between the injured foot and the contralateral foot was not statistically significant (P > .05). For low-energy and crush Lisfranc injuries, Endobutton combined with medial plate fixation yielded favorable early clinical outcomes and reliable short-term surgical results in this single-center retrospective study. Although the clinical benefits of this combined technique are promising, its efficacy compared with conventional fixation methods requires further validation in well-designed prospective controlled trials.

The bare foot plantar pressures were compared to in-shoe pressure measurements in 11 normal male volunteers using the EMED system. Shoes diminished pressures and forces in most areas under the foot except the medial forefoot. The hallux showed less force, a smaller contact area and a reduced contact time. Therefore a shoe can interfere with the toe-off mechanism. There was no difference between various types of shoes with rubber and leather soles. Heavier subjects tended to put less weight on the medial forefoot.

Novel dynamic peak and distribution plantar pressure measures on diabetic patients during walking

Relationship between plantar pressure distribution during the stance phase of gait and suspicion of sarcopenia in elderly Women: A cross-sectional pilot study.

“Antero-medial load shift” in unilateral plantar heel pain – A cross-sectional exploratory study