Association between Elastic Modulus of Foot Soft Tissues and Gait Characteristics in Young Individuals with Flatfoot.
Xin JiaoTianyi HuYongjin LiBinbin WangMirabel Ewura Esi AcquahZengguang WangQianqian ChenYaokai GanDongyun GuPublished in: Bioengineering (Basel, Switzerland) (2024)
Flatfoot is a common foot deformity, causing foot pain, osteoarthritis of the midfoot, and even knee and hip dysfunction. The elastic modulus of foot soft tissues and its association with gait biomechanics still remain unclear. For this study, we recruited 20 young individuals with flatfoot and 22 age-matched individuals with normal foot arches. The elastic modulus of foot soft tissues (posterior tibial tendon, flexor digitorum brevis, plantar fascia, heel fat pad) was obtained via ultrasound elastography. Gait data were acquired using an optical motion capture system. The association between elastic modulus and gait data was analyzed via correlation analysis. The elastic modulus of the plantar fascia (PF) in individuals with flatfoot was higher than that in individuals with normal foot arches. There was no significant difference in the elastic modulus of the posterior tibial tendon (PTT), the flexor digitorum brevis (FDB), or the heel fat pad (HFD), or the thickness of the PF, PTT, FDB, and HFD. Individuals with flatfoot showed greater motion of the hip and pelvis in the coronal plane, longer double-support phase time, and greater maximum hip adduction moment during walking. The elastic modulus of the PF in individuals with flatfoot was positively correlated with the maximum hip extension angle (r = 0.352, p = 0.033) and the maximum hip adduction moment (r = 0.429, p = 0.039). The plantar fascia is an important plantar structure in flatfoot. The alteration of the plantar fascia's elastic modulus is likely a significant contributing factor to gait abnormalities in people with flatfoot. More attention should be given to the plantar fascia in the young population with flatfoot.
Keyphrases
- total knee arthroplasty
- total hip arthroplasty
- gene expression
- high fat diet
- cerebral palsy
- high resolution
- electronic health record
- rheumatoid arthritis
- oxidative stress
- knee osteoarthritis
- computed tomography
- skeletal muscle
- metabolic syndrome
- neuropathic pain
- pain management
- mass spectrometry
- spinal cord injury
- optical coherence tomography
- deep learning