The foot pressure distribution of a normal left and toes-out right foot gait

Abstract

Objective To characterize the foot pressure distribution during walking of the male college students with a normal left foot and toes-out right foot gait.Methods Forty-two male college students age 20 to 25 with a toes-out gait on the right side and a normal gait on the left side were recruited.The FOOTSCAN system was used to measure their foot pressure distribution while walking.Results There were significant differences between the normal and the toes-out foot with regard to the peak pressure on the third metatarsal bone [(45.05 ±13.91)N/cm2 vs (26.83 ± 10.82) N/cm2] and pressure under the arch [(4.48 ± 1.94) N/cm2 vs (2.90 ±1.57) N/cm2],as well as the time for the appearance of peak pressure under the 1st and 4th metatarsal bones.The foot regional impulse was significantly lower on the normal side than on the toes-out side for toes 2 to 5 and for metatarsal bone 2.Conclusion In contrast to the normal foot,the pressure center of the toe-out foot deflects to the inner side.This results in slanted power application instead of straight ahead,so the strength in the direction of travel is small.And it will produce torsion between the tibia and fibula,which makes the tibia appear introverted and causes excessive friction in the knee joint.This will lead to injury of the knee joint. Key words: Toes-out; Peak pressure; Time to peak pressure; Impulse; Gait