Flatfoot in the neglected age group of adolescents

Abstract

The foot arches in humans are the complex musculo-skeletal-ligamentous structure that helps in shock absorption because of the elasticity and provides stability while transmitting the muscle force for walking. Primarily we observed the prevalence of flatfoot among adolescents going to college. Thereafter we determined the correlation of flatfoot with the body mass index and gender of the adolescents being studied. Footprint analysis of undergraduate students was obtained based on Harris – the Beath mat principle. Clarke’s angle, Chippaux-Smirak index, and Staheli arch index were observed in the footprints. Subsequently, the correlation between the flatfoot, body mass index, and gender of the participants was assessed. The prevalence of flatfoot in college-going adolescents was 18.28% by footprint analysis, presenting a female predilection (20% of the footprint analysis) for the condition. The most valid and reliable plantar arch index for diagnosing flatfoot was the Staheli arch index, followed by the Chippaux-Smirak index having a moderate to strong correlation (R = 0.7, 0.95; p < 0.05). Only 1.1% of females and up to 2.2% of males were observed to have flatfoot and were obese. Eighteen out of a hundred (approximately one–fifth) adolescents in the studied group had flatfoot. The gender predilection for females was observed. Contradictory to the findings of the previous study, obesity was not observed as a foot arch-altering factor in adolescents.