Abstract
In healthy, normal feet, where there is no pain or any anatomical or functional deformity, normal plantar pressure distribution exists under the load bearing points of the foot, i.e. heel, metatarsal heads, and phalanges of the toes. Foot problems however range from the simple and obvious, to the most subtle and complicated, which can often mislead clinicians and investigators in their assessment and subsequent treatment plan. Consequently, study of the distribution of forces and pressure between the foot and the ground can often reveal valuable and otherwise unobtainable information about both the structure and function of the foot, and the postural control of the whole body. The uses of this information vary; it may be utilised to assist the anatomical inspection of the foot, or the neuromuscular examination of the trunk and lower limb musculo-skeleto-motor system as reflected from the characteristic loading patterns under the respective load bearing points of the foot. In addition to clinicaland biomechanical assessments, knowledge of various conservative modalities, e.g. functional orthoses and footwear mechanics, is important to provide a comprehensive treatment, not to mention that common sense should prevail. In this article, the detailed history and application of such systems are detailed along with three clinical examples.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1-21 |
Number of pages | 21 |
Journal | Journal of Foot Surgery (India) |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2003 |