In the past people were excluded from military service and many children suffered under the stigma of having flat feet. Flat feet have been a very popular area of research for years, yet many unresolved issues still exist. There appears to be no universally accepted definition of normal arch height within the general population, which leads to difficulty in identifying and classifying flat feet. A reduced arch appears to have an effect on human movement but the extent of this in dynamic movement remains undefined. The primary aim of this project was to investigate if there were differences in performance of basic gross motor skills between normal and low arched feet in 9 ??? 12 year old children. The principal measurement technique proposed was more accurate than previous studies and permitted an in-depth analysis of the foot in dynamic situations. This three-dimensional foot analysis facilitated a greater understanding of the biomechanics of the foot. The research was undertaken in three phases. The initial phase classified approximately one hundred children???s feet for inclusion in the subsequent phases. Static footprints and dynamic arch height measurement were recorded. The second phase comprised of three-dimensional foot analysis, and basic functional tasks including, jumping, balancing, and hopping undertaken with thirty children; fifteen low and fifteen normal arched. An additional twenty-four children participated in the third and final phase, which included a lower limb gait analysis with strength and proprioception tests in addition to the tests in phase two. Kinematically the low arched foot had a significantly lower medial arch angle and a reduced forefoot pronation angle throughout the gait cycle. This research also found that they had a more externally rotated hip particularly during the stance phase of gait. Functionally there were remarkably few differences between the two groups. The low arched group had significantly reduced performance in lateral hopping. However they showed stronger plantar flexion strength, and performed better in the vertical jumping task. It can be concluded from this research that there is no major disadvantage to performance of gross motor skills for the children in this project with low arched asymptomatic feet.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/258908 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Twomey, Dara, Safety Science, Faculty of Science, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Safety Science |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Dara Twomey, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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