Document Type : Original Articles

Authors

• Mohammad Taghi Karimi ¹
• Fatemeh Pol ²
• Ahmad Pol ³
• Niloofar Fereshtehnejad ²
• Masood Rafiaei ⁴

¹ PhD in Orthotics and Prosthetics, Academic Board Member, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

² BSc in Orthotics and Prosthetics, School of Rehabilitation Sciences, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran

³ MSc in Mechanical Enginieering, Mashhad, Iran

⁴ MSc in Orthotics and Prosthetics, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Various methods are used to address the foot structure however, the most common and easy to use method is foot print method which is capable to detect the wide variation of foot morphology and providing information about the distribution of foot type. Most of the studies regarding foot print indexes have been reported during static condition and in a single limb support. However, there is no enough evidence regarding the foot print indexes in dynamic condition and also in static equal weight bearing condition. The aim of this research was to find the mean values of the foot print indexes in static condition, equal weight bearing condition, and during walking. Moreover, it was aimed at finding the correlation between static and dynamic indexes.Materials and Methods: Two groups of 30 normal and flatfoot subjects were recruited in this clinical trial study. They were selected from the staff and students of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences. The footprint indexes were collected during static and dynamic conditions. Arch index, footprint index and footprint angle were the parameters determined via Solid Work software. The difference in footprint indexes between normal and flat-arched subjects was evaluated through two-sample t test. The Pearson correlation test was used to determine the relationship between the static and dynamic conditions.Results: The footprint indexes of normal and flat footed subjects differed significantly from each other (P < 0.05). In addition, there was a correlation between the static and dynamic indexes (r > 0.808).Conclusion: Footprint index can be used to monitor the foot misalignment in flat arched subjects. As there was a significant correlation between static and dynamic conditions, it is suggested to monitor foot alignment during walking with regard to those indexes measured in the static condition.Keywords: Footprint indexes, Flatfoot, Arch index, Foot print angle, Static, Dynamic