Quantitative Analysis of Foot Plantar Pressure During Walking

BACKGROUND There are many methods of dynamic analysis of foot loading, however, we still need a simple, easily applicable system for foot plantar pressure analysis. In this study we asked the question: "Can a new system for foot evaluation, the ITE System, provide a good quantitative dynamic foot pressure analysis? Can it be used in clinical practice?". MATERIAL AND METHODS Twenty healthy volunteers, 8 females and 12 males, aged 20 to 25 years old took part in this study. Normal static foot loading was tested using a typical pedobarographic platform, followed by a dynamic analysis using the foot-pressure ITE System. A new algorithm for data analysis (from 8 sensors) was proposed. RESULTS The sum of all maximal values from sensors was 11.71 N mean, with relatively low standard deviation (SD) of 1.81. Loading of sensor 1 (heel) was the highest - on average 29.84%. Sensor 2 (medial midfoot) received the lowest loading - normal range for this segment would be 0-4%. The manner of loading heel/toes, dynamics of changes in loading during gait was quite diverse; when analyzing courses of changes on sensors, 4 gait patterns were observed. CONCLUSIONS Use of the ITE System creates a new possibility for dynamic foot evaluation, drawing from pedobarography and methods of gait analysis. The proposed data analysis algorithm is simple and can be applied in all cases. Normally, 30% of the sum of all pressures during stance phase falls on the rearfoot; 39% falls on forefoot.