Survey of foot deformities among 166 geriatric inpatients

A clinical survey on foot deformities among 166 geriatric inpatients was carried out. Direct measurements on hallux valgus, great toe movements, great toe deformities, lesser toe deformities, arch of the foot, callosities, ankle movements, inversion, and eversion were done by using the goniometer. A specially designed goniometer was created to measure inversion and eversion. The Harris Mat was used to study foot prints in correlation with the various deformities. About 50% of geriatric patients were found to have foot deformities of various types. This compared well with available data in literature. The target population was also checked for their symptomatology which, amazingly, was found to be really insignificant compared with the deformities present. This finding was found to be very much unlike data for Caucasian individuals with foot deformities, 50% of whom had symptoms related to pain and footwear. This major difference in the clinical presentation encourages the authors to carry on their study and, perhaps, direct cross-cultural studies in the future.