Purpose: To assess the foot posture and hip joint mobility of elite handball and soccer players and to investigate possible correlations between these measurements. Methods: We compared the ...differences in means of Foot Posture Index (FPI), passive hip internal (IR), and external (ER) rotation range of motion (ROM) between three groups of male subjects (17 handball players, 17 soccer players, and 16 non-athletes). The Kruskal-Walli’s test and post-hoc pairwise comparison with the Mann-Whitney U test were used to determine the differences between the group means, and associations between variables were analyzed with Spearman’s correlation coefficient. Results: No significant differences in the mean FPI were found between the soccer players (1.3 ± 2.9), handball players (0.7 ± 2.1), and the control group (1.7 ± 2.5) (p > 0.05). Similarly, no significant difference was found between the groups in the hip ER ROM. In contrast, a significantly lower (p < 0.05) hip IR ROM was observed in the soccer players (30.6° ± 5.3°) compared to the handball players (41.0° ± 8.1°) and the control group (41.1° ± 6.4°). A weak positive correlation was only observed between the FPI and hip IR ROM in the soccer players (ρ: 0.36, p = 0.035). Conclusions: Handball and soccer players show a tendency toward less pronated feet compared to non-athletes, but the differences are not significant and the mean FPI values are still within the range of normal foot posture. The range of hip IR seems to be reduced in soccer players and weakly, but significantly and positively associated with the FPI value, which needs to be further investigated in future studies.
The aim of the study is to evaluate and determine the diff erences in the status of lower limbs of primary school pupils in primary school. On the sample of 68 respondents, 34 boys and 34 girls, who ...attended the fi rst grade of the primary school “Ivo Lola Ribar” from Novi Sad, an assessment of the postural status by the method of “Napoleon Wolansky” was carried out with an accent on “X” and “O” the shape of the leg and the holding of the vault of the soles. For the statistical data processing, the non - parametric Hi - square test method was used. The results showed that statistically signifi cant diff erences were not found, indicating a similar state of the observed segments of the postural status of this sample (p> 0.05). In the leg estimation variables, it can be concluded that there are no statistically signifi cant diff erences between boys and girls in the segments of the “X” leg (p=0.323), as well as the “O” leg (p=0.555). No statistically signifi cant diff erences were observed between the subjects of the diff erent sex (p=0.614) nor at the foot of the foot. A slightly higher representation of the good holding of this segment was observed in the sub-girlfriends. The results show that fl at feet were represented with 7.48% of the total sample. Based on the results it can be concluded that it is generally necessary to apply preventive exercises and activities in the teaching of physical education, but also to work towards the early diagnosis of these deformities.
Interspecies differences in locomotor efficiency have been extensively researched, but within-species variation in the metabolic cost of walking and its underlying causes have received much less ...attention. This is somewhat surprising given the importance of walking energetics to natural selection, and the fact that the mechanical efficiency of striding bipedalism in modern humans is thought to be related in some part to the unique morphology of the human foot. Previous studies of human running have linked specific anatomical traits in the foot to variations in locomotor energetics to provide insight into form-function relationships in human evolution. However, such studies are relatively rare, particularly for walking. In this study, relationships between a range of functional musculoskeletal traits in the human lower limb and the energetics of walking over compliant and noncompliant substrates are examined, with particular focus on the lower limb and foot. Twenty-nine young, healthy individuals walked across three surfaces—a noncompliant laboratory floor, and compliant 6 cm and 13 cm thick foams—at self-selected speeds while oxygen consumption was measured, from which the metabolic cost of transport was calculated. Lower limb lengths, calcaneus lengths, foot shape indices, and maximum isometric plantarflexion torques were also measured and subsequently tested for relationships with metabolic cost over these surfaces using linear regression. It was found that metabolic cost varied considerably between individuals within and across substrate types, but this variation was not statistically related to or explained by variations in musculoskeletal parameters considered to be adaptively important to efficient bipedal locomotion. This therefore provides no supportive evidence that variations in these gross anatomical parameters confer significant advantages to the efficiency of walking, and therefore suggest caution in the use of similar metrics to infer differences in walking energetics in closely related fossil species.
The current narrative review has explored known associations between foot shape, foot posture, and foot conditions during running. The artificial intelligence was found to be a useful metric of foot ...posture but was less useful in developing and obese individuals. Care should be taken when using the foot posture index to associate pronation with injury risk, and the Achilles tendon and longitudinal arch angles are required to elucidate the risk. The statistical shape modeling (SSM) may derive learnt information from population-based inference and fill in missing data from personalized information. Bone shapes and tissue morphology have been associated with pathology, gender, age, and height and may develop rapid population-specific foot classifiers. Based on this review, future studies are suggested for 1) tracking the internal multi-segmental foot motion and mapping the biplanar 2D motion to 3D shape motion using the SSM; 2) implementing multivariate machine learning or convolutional neural network to address nonlinear correlations in foot mechanics with shape or posture; 3) standardizing wearable data for rapid prediction of instant mechanics, load accumulation, injury risks and adaptation in foot tissue and bones, and correlation with shapes; 4) analyzing dynamic shape and posture
marker-less and real-time techniques under real-life scenarios for precise evaluation of clinical foot conditions and performance-fit footwear development.
A large proportion of netball players suffer foot-related problems and pain and are dissatisfied with current netball-specific footwear. To improve the fit and functionality of netball-specific ...shoes, we must understand the shape of these players' feet and determine whether any sex differences exist. Five hundred and two representative-level netball players (n = 251 male; n = 251 female) had their feet three-dimensionally scanned. We then used a validated MATLAB code to automatically extract 10 measurements to characterise each participant's foot shape. Differences between men and women for the absolute values and those normalised to foot length and stature were identified using independent samples t-tests with a Bonferroni adjusted alpha level. The size and shape of male netball players' feet differed significantly from their female counterparts. Males had significantly larger absolute and normalised foot measurements than females, notably at the ball of the foot, heel and instep (p < 0.001). Netball shoe manufacturers should develop unique lasts for each sex and foot size and should offer a more extensive range of shoe lengths and widths to netball players. Such considerations will help optimise shoe fit and comfort and, in turn, reduce foot-related problems and pain associated with ill-fitting footwear.
Background and Study Aim. Excessive physical activity poses a risk of injury, particularly when coupled with high exercise intensity. Factors such as Body Mass Index (BMI) and foot morphology may ...contribute to this risk. This study seeks to evaluate the relationship between BMI, foot shape, and the likelihood of injury among sports students. Material and Methods. A total of 119 sports students, comprising 33 females and 86 males, participated in this study. Purposive sampling was employed to select participants. BMI was determined using height and weight measurements, while foot shape was assessed through footprint measurements. The Functional Movement Screening (FMS) instrument, encompassing 7 movements: Deep Squats, Hurdle Steps, Inline Lunges, Shoulder Mobility, Active Straight Leg Raises, Trunk Stability Push-ups, and Rotary Stability, was utilized to assess injury risk. Data analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel and IBM SPSS v.25.0, employing descriptive statistics. Results. Based on data analysis, the FMS value in females shows a mean of 18.7 and a standard deviation of 1.21. At the same time, the FMS value in males shows 18.5 and a standard deviation of 1.41. BMI values in females showed a mean of 21.6 and a standard deviation of 3.03. At the same time, BMI values in males showed a mean of 22.9 and a standard deviation of 4.62. The results were that all FMS scores were ≥14. While of BMI measurements, some samples obtained ˂18 kg/m² and ˃30kg/m². BMI measurements according to gender were mainly in the normal weight category. However, those who fall into the obesity category are primarily males. With the results of measuring the foot's shape, the percentage of flat feet is only 0.84% in females and 7.59 in males, while the rest of the sample has a normal foot shape. Conclusions. Individuals with a BMI in the overweight to obese category are more susceptible to high-category injuries, likely due to limited motion range. However, the study did not find evidence linking flat foot shape to high-category injury risk. This inability to establish a correlation may be attributed to the predominantly normal foot shape observed in the sample, resulting in a prediction of low-category injury risk.
This study classifies the foot shapes of Taiwanese using 3D foot scanning data from 2000 males and 1000 females. Nine foot dimensions relative to foot length and absolute measures in the common foot ...length categories were applied to compare the gender differences. Using foot breadth in % foot length (% FL), ball of foot length in % FL and arch height in % FL as feature parameters, three foot shape types for males and females can be classified. Significant gender differences were found in seven of the nine foot dimensions. Females had greater ball of foot length than males (0.2% FL). When comparing feet of the same foot length, males had greater breadth, girth and height dimensions than females, except for toe height. In addition, ethnic differences in foot shape were also observed. The findings can provide very useful information for building gender-specific shoe lasts and designing footwear insoles.
Practitioner Summary: 3D foot scanning data of 2000 males and 1000 females were classified into three different foot shapes for males and females, respectively. Gender and ethnic differences on foot shape were also compared. The findings can provide very useful information for gender-specific shoe last design and footwear production.
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