Study of Plantar Pressure Distribution

Abstract

Every region of foot is not equally divided in terms of plantar pressure distribution (PPD) during free standing. This paper is focusing on studying PPD on flat plane and inclined plane and the results obtained from this study may contribute to biomedical researcher in designing orthotic devices. 24 healthy young adults age ranging from 19 to 24 years old and weigh between 50 to 80 kg were invited for experiments purpose. Six regions of both feet were measured which were hallux, medial forefoot, central forefoot, lateral forefoot, lateral midfoot and hindfoot. Remarkable differences were seen in the result as right foot exerted more pressure generally in every region of the foot as to compared with left foot respectively. This is true especially for region such as hallux, medial forefoot and lateral forefoot. On a flat surface, PPD on the hindfoot is the highest. However, at an elevation of 25°, test subjects began to shift their PPD to forefoot regions. While studies of PPD are common, this study provides a new insight for the first time into PPD while standing on different angle of walking plane.