Article

The purpose of this study was to determine if foot type (flat or normal) resulted
in loading differences during four sport-specific tasks (cross-cut, side-cut,
shuttle run, and landing from a simulated lay-up).
Twenty-two healthy subjects
(12 normal feet and 10 flat feet) completed five trials in each condition, while
in-shoe pressure data was collected at 50 Hz. Contact area, maximum force, and
the force time integral were analyzed under the entire foot and in eight-foot
regions. Foot type was determined by examining navicular height, arch angle,
rearfoot angle, and a clinical score. A series of independent sample t-tests were
used to determine statistical differences (alpha<0.05). During the cross-cut,
flat feet demonstrated an increase in medial midfoot contact area. During the
side-cut, flat feet demonstrated an increase in contact area, force time integral
and maximum force in both the medial and lateral midfoot. During the shuttle run,
flat feet demonstrated an increase in force time integral in the lateral midfoot
and increases in maximum force in both the medial and lateral midfoot. During the
landing task, flat feet demonstrated an increase in maximum force in the medial
midfoot. However, flat feet demonstrate a decrease in middle forefoot maximum
force. All results were statistically significant (p<0.05). Therefore,
individuals with a normal foot could be at a lower risk for medial and lateral
midfoot injuries such as metatarsal stress fractures, indicating that foot type
should be assessed when determining an individual's risk for metatarsal stress fractures.

Langue : ANGLAIS