Purpose: Peripheral neuropathies, changes in body composition, presence of ascites which means pathologic fluid accumulation in peritoneal cavity, leg edema and lower extremity muscle mass loss are possible factors that may alter plantar pressure distribution in patients with liver cirrhosis. Our aim was to determine the changes in plantar loading characteristics during walking in patients with...

......................................................................................................1 0 Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................. 12 1.1 Diabetes and the impact of plantar foot ulcers ................................................................. 12 1.2 Aetiology of ulceration in...

The lesser digits are frequent sites of elevated plantar pressure and ulceration in the diabetic foot. We sought to determine whether debridement of callus and the wearing of a custom molded digital orthosis could significantly reduce digital plantar pressure. Fourteen patients with distal digital callus were studied. For each patient, the toe with the highest plantar pressure was selected. A c...

Background Capoeira is a cultural practice with Brazilian roots that combines several elements including dance, fighting and body rhythm. Because of the diverse elements involved in its practice, capoeira is excellent at developing the physical and social abilities of its players. The aim of this study was to compare the biomechanical profile of muscle strength, plantar pressure distribution, a...

BACKGROUND The wearing of personal equipment can cause specific changes in muscle activity and posture. In the present study, we investigated the influence of differences in equipment related weight loading and load distribution on plantar pressure. In addition, we studied functional effects of wearing different equipment with a particular focus on relevant changes in foot shape. METHODS Stat...

BACKGROUND Plantar pressure measurements often are used as a tool to evaluate pathologic gait. Previous studies, often done at self-selected walking speeds, have used peak plantar pressure to try to predict ulcer formation, compare surgical outcomes, and evaluate orthotic device efficacy. However, the relationship between walking speed and plantar pressures at specific plantar regions has not b...

We propose a novel polymer optical fiber (POF) sensing system based on fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) to measure foot plantar pressure. The plantar pressure signals are detected by five FBGs, in the same piece of cyclic transparent optical polymer (CYTOP) fiber, which are embedded in a cork insole for the dynamic monitoring of gait. The calibration and measurements performed with the suggested sys...

..............................................................................................xix List of Abbreviations...............................................................................xxi CHAPTER 1: General introduction...............................................................1 1.1 References...................................................................................7 ...

BACKGROUND Identification of locations with elevated plantar pressures is important in daily foot care for patients with rheumatoid arthritis, metatarsalgia and diabetes. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the proficiency of podiatrists, pedorthists and orthotists, to distinguish locations with elevated plantar pressure in patients with metatarsalgia. METHODS Ten podiatrists, te...