The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between flexible flatfoot and lumbar proprioception.
The human foot plays a crucial role in maintaining balance during various activities, and poor foot alignment, such as excessive subtalar joint pronation, can lead to leg, knee, and back pain. Proprioception is essential for active joint stability, as it indirectly modulates and provides motor response, helping the neuromuscular system maintain balance. Lumbar proprioception deficits can decrease the ability to assume a neutral spinal posture and coordinate muscle contraction, affecting spinal segmental function, dynamic joint stability, and good motor control. This study investigates the association between flatfoot and lumbar proprioception.
Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Enrollment
57
out-patient clinic, faculty of physical therapy, Cairo university
Cairo, Egypt
assessment of the foot posture using navicular drop test
The study evaluates foot posture in a weight-bearing position by placing the thumb and index fingers on the medial and lateral aspects of the talar dome. The subject is then asked to invert and evert the hind-foot and ankle until equal depressions are felt. The distance between the navicular tubercle and the floor is measured. The navicular-drop score is recorded, and the subject is classified into a pronated foot (more than 10 mm of navicular drop) and a normal foot (between five and nine mm of navicular drop).
Time frame: at baseline
assessment of change of lumbar proprioception using Biodex system isokinetic dynamometer
The Biodex System 3 Pro isokinetic device is used to measure lumbar proprioception. The device offers isokinetic, eccentric, isometric, and passive modes for all body joints and is equipped with various attachments and isolation straps. The system is equipped with a computer unit and a special testing unit for lumbar area testing. Subjects are instructed to sit on the lumbar attachment unit with their hips and knees flexed at 90 degrees, strapped around their thigh, pelvis, and trunk, and fold their arms above their chest. The selected test is active repositioning error/speed 30o/S, with a target position of 30° lumbar flexion. The device is locked in 0° position during trials, and the isokinetic device software calculates the mean of the three real testing results. The isokinetic machine prints the results, providing each trial's error value and the average error of the three trials.
Time frame: at baseline
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