Can the Foot Posture Index or their individual criteria predict dynamic plantar pressures?

Abstract

The Foot Posture Index (FPI) quantifies foot posture through the evaluation of six individual criteria. The objective of the present study was then to establish the plantar pressure differences between types of feet, and to study the capacity of the whole FPI value and the six individual criteria to predict the pattern of plantar pressures.In a sample of 400 healthy subjects (201 men and 199 women), the FPI was evaluated and plantar pressures were measured in 10 zones using the Footscan® platform. Five plantar pressures measurements were made for each foot, using for the study the mean of these measurements for each subject's left foot.The hallux and the lesser toes had lower pressure indices in highly supinated feet, with the values increasing progressively toward the highly pronated feet (p<0.001 and p=0.019 respectively). The fifth metatarsal head (MTH) values were greater in highly supinated feet, and decreased in the highly pronated feet (p<0.001). The FPI value predicts low variability of plantar pressures, mainly in the heel and midfoot, while the individual criteria predict higher variability in the forefoot. The talonavicular prominence and the calcaneal frontal plane position was the most influential criterion, explaining 8.5% of the hallux pressure and 11.1% of the fifth MTH pressure. Neither talar head palpation nor the supra and infra malleolar curvature predicted any of the plantar pressures variables.The FPI can distinguish three groups of feet – pronated, neutral, and supinated. Its individual criteria predict moderate or low plantar pressures variability, with the talonavicular prominence being the most influential criterion.