Static and Dynamic Plantar Pressure and Normalized
Plantar Pressure Characteristics among Children, Adults,
and the Elderly
Poonyanat Nualon PT, PhD¹, Plaiwan Suttanon PT, PhD², Vinitha Puengtanom MSc¹, Piyasiri Ngamsangiam PT, MSc² , ³,
Sudarat Apibantaweesakul PT, MSc¹ , ⁴
Affiliation : ¹ Department of Sports Science and Sports Development, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University, Pathum Thani, Thailand ² Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Allied Health Sciences, Thammasat University, Pathum Thani, Thailand ³ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (Physical Therapy), Lerdsin Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand ⁴ Graduate School of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama 359-1192, Japan
Background: A better understanding of plantar pressure while standing and walking would help in improving balance and gait performance
across different age ranges.
Objective: To clarify the differences of plantar pressure while standing and walking among children, adults, and the elderly.
Materials and Methods: Fifty-three participants including eleven aged 3 to 8 years, thirty aged 20 to 40 years, and twelve aged 60 to 90 years were included in the present study. Plantar pressure and related parameters while quiet standing and walking with self-selected speed were assessed.
Results: In static plantar pressure, no significant differences were observed of mean different pressure and mean different contact area between dominant and non-dominant limbs among the three groups, while center of pressure (COP) displacement was shown as significantly greater between children and adults (p<0.05). For dynamic plantar pressure, no significant differences in COP velocity were found among the three groups. The elderly showed significant lower normalized maximum plantar pressure in areas of the second and third metatarsal, and internal heel compared with the young adults (p<0.05). Additionally, normalized maximum plantar pressures among children seemed to differ from adults.
Conclusion: Plantar pressure characteristics could indicate that children develop gait ability in braking and propulsion phases with greater heel and toe function, while the ability of braking and propulsion declined with aging. These could reflect balance ability while standing or walking.
Received 18 December 2020 | Revised 26 October 2021 | Accepted 27 October 2021
doi.org/10.35755/jmedassocthai.2021.12.12329
Keywords :
Foot pressure; Children; Elderly; Normalization
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