Effect of Pronated And Supinated Foot Postures on Static and Dynamic Balance in Dancers

Abstract

Aim: Foot being the most distal segment represents a relatively small Base of Support (BOS) on which theentire body maintains balance. Postural control is not a fully automatic process, requires a certain level ofattention to maintain balance. A minor biomechanical alteration can disrupt the process. Hence the currentstudy aims to assess the static and dynamic balance of contemporary dancers with altered foot posture.Methodology: Altered foot posture was assessed using the Navicular drop test following that the staticbalance (using the flamingo balance test) and dynamic balance (using star excursion balance test (SEBT))were assessed in 30 contemporary dancers.Results: Out of 30 dancers (21 had pronated foot, 8 had neutral and 1 with supinated foot). Strong correlationwas found between the foot posture and the static balance (r=0.753; right foot and r=0.702; left foot). SEBTshowed that balance was affected in certain directions which were different for the dancers with differentfoot alterations. Supinated foot showed affection in anterior and antero-medial directions and pronated footshowed alterations in posterior, postero-lateral and lateral directions.Conclusion: Overall the study showed that contemporary dancers are affected most with the pronated footproposing higher risk of injuries in future and the overall reach distance was affected in supinated footcompared to neutral foot and pronated foot.