Affiliations: [a] Department of Physical Therapy, College of Science, Kyungsung University, Busan, Korea | [b] Department of Physical Therapy, College of Nursing and Healthcare Sciences, Dong-Eui University, Busan, Korea | [c] Department of Physical Therapy, Busan ST. Marrys Medical Center, Busan, Korea | [d] Department of Physical Therapy, Gangneung Yeongdong College, Gangneung, Korea | [e] Department of Physical Therapy, Daegu University, Daegu, Korea
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Jung-Hoon Lee, Department of Physical Therapy, College of Nursing and Healthcare Sciences, Dong-Eui University, 176, Eomgwangno, Busanjin-gu, Busan, 614-714, Korea. Tel.: +82 51 890 4222; Fax: +82 51 890 4229; E-mail:dreampt@hanmail.net
Abstract:
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to compare the plantar foot
pressure and the center of pressure (COP) pathway of normal and flat feet
while crossing an obstacle at different heights. METHODS: Nineteen subjects (10 normal feet, 9 flat feet) participated in
this study. The plantar foot surface was divided into the following seven
regions for pressure measurement: two toe regions, three forefoot regions,
one midfoot region, and one heel region. A one-way ANOVA with repeated
measurements was used to compare the plantar foot pressure of normal and
flat feet according to the obstacle height. RESULTS: The trend analysis showed a quadratic trend during level walking for the
normal foot group, but a linear trend appeared as the obstacle height
increased. In the flat foot group, the trend analysis showed a linear trend
regardless of the obstacle height. In the 2nd-3rd metatarsal head region,
the plantar pressure of the flat foot group increased more than the normal
foot group as the obstacle height increased; however, in the 4th-5th
metatarsal head region, the plantar pressure in flat feet was lower than in
normal feet. In the heel region, the plantar pressure in both groups
generally increased as the obstacle height increased, but the plantar
pressure in the flat foot group was lower than in the normal foot group. CONCLUSION: We believe that, due to a loss of longitudinal arch, the COP path
and plantar pressure of flat feet may be different from normal feet when
crossing obstacles of different heights.
Keywords: Plantar pressure, obstacle, flat foot, pathway of COP
