Abstract
Pedobarography is a safe, non-invasive diagnostic method that enables estimation of plantar pressure distribution. This article aims to describe the symmetry between right and left toes in the Polish adult population using data obtained during postural pedobarographic examinations. Eighty-two patients, both sexes, with a mean age of 42.12 (range 19–70), without significant pathologies, participated in the study. Plantar pressure was evaluated using a PEL38 pressure plate. The study applies the elements of Cavanagh’s classification to identify the foot sole regions: Hallux, Second Toe and Lateral Toe areas and the entire foot surface. The parameters measured included maximal and average pressures, total support area for each foot, and contact area of the foot with the ground at individual moments of standing. The results showed significantly greater loading under the right Hallux in women. As regards men, higher values in the whole foot pressure distribution were noted on the left side. Plantar pressure distribution does not increase along with the global factors such as age and body mass. The findings suggest that the asymmetry in the morphological structure of the foot does not determine the asymmetry in the plantar pressure distribution. None of the feet studied had full symmetry on the entire surface.
Highlights
The phenomena of symmetry and asymmetry are universal by nature
In the other tested regions, as well as the entire foot surface, the obtained results do not indicate any significant difference in the loading of the left and right foot
The results of our studies indicate that among Hallux, Second Toe and Lateral Toe regions the greatest asymmetry is identified in the Hallux region in women (21.57 left foot vs. 25.79 right foot)
Summary
The very concept of symmetry has its roots in antiquity. Euclid’s “Elements” symmetry, understood as commensurability, has become fundamental to expressing the ideas of harmony, beauty and unity. Defining ideal symmetry of the human body has been popular with artists since antiquity. In the Renaissance, Leonardo Da Vinci, following Vitruvius’ view, indicated that the proportions between the individual parts of the human body reflect the harmony that exists in nature—based on geometric order. One of the most important directions of scientific research in modern science is proving or denying the existence of supersymmetry by physicists, which is understood as the relationship between two basic classes of elementary particles: bosons, which have an integer-valued spin, and fermions, which have a half-integer-valued spin
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