[Dynamic changes in the medial arch of the foot in childhood during walking]

The purpose of this study was to estimate the period of gait maturation from the viewpoint of changes of the medial arch of the foot. Gait studies are performed on normal children between the ages of seven and twelve years and compared with those of normal adults. The first peak of lengthening of the medial arch of the foot, caused mainly by the vertical force on the foot, is shortened with age and becomes almost the same as the adult at nine years of age. In the late stage of the stance phase, the pattern of the medial arch becomes almost the same as the adult at twelve years of age. It is suggested that the medial arch of the foot during walking is well established at the age of nine years in foot flexibility, and finally transformed into an adult pattern at the age of twelve years in relation to foot flexibility and muscle force.