Introduction.  The foot due to its complex structure provides three basic functions: supportive, locomotive and amortization. The human foot is an important static-dynamic part of the motor system. A properly shaped foot should be supported by three points: the first and the fifth metatarsal bone and the external part of the heel.Purpose of research. The aim of the study was to analyze the feet construction and find the relationships between the foot structure parameters and BMI among 8-year-old boys.Material and methods. The study involved 85 boys. The weight and the body height of the children were measured, body mass index was calculated, and the footprint using the was made. On the basis of the foot picture, the basic parameters for foot assessment as well as relations between these indicators and BMI were calculated. Subsequently, the Clarke angle, the hallux valgus angle and Wejsflog index were determined in manual way. Then the dependency between these parameters and BMI was investigated.Results. The number of lower foot arch or flat foot in the study group amounted to 53%, the transverse flat foot was observed among 17% of the studied boys feet and the hallux valgus angle beyond the norm occurred in 9% of the studied feet. There is a relationship between the Clark’s angle, Wejsflog index, hallux valgus angle α and BMI of boys.Conclusions. Boys with a higher BMI have lower values of the Clark angle and the Wejsflog index which are the evidence of a lower longitudinal and transverse arch. Children with higher BMI have higher values of the angle of hallux valgus 

Szczepanowska-Wołowiec, Beata

Sztandera, Paulina

Journal of Education Health and Sport

English

Introduction.  The foot due to its complex structure provides three basic functions: supportive, locomotive and amortization. The human foot is an important static-dynamic part of the motor system. A properly shaped foot should be supported by three points: the first and the fifth metatarsal bone and the external part of the heel.

Purpose of research. The aim of the study was to analyze the feet construction and find the relationships between the foot structure parameters and BMI among 8-year-old boys.

Material and methods. The study involved 85 boys. The weight and the body height of the children were measured, body mass index was calculated, and the footprint using the was made. On the basis of the foot picture, the basic parameters for foot assessment as well as relations between these indicators and BMI were calculated. Subsequently, the Clarke angle, the hallux valgus angle and Wejsflog index were determined in manual way. Then the dependency between these parameters and BMI was investigated.

Results. The number of lower foot arch or flat foot in the study group amounted to 53%, the transverse flat foot was observed among 17% of the studied boys feet and the hallux valgus angle beyond the norm occurred in 9% of the studied feet. There is a relationship between the Clark’s angle, Wejsflog index, hallux valgus angle α and BMI of boys.

Conclusions. Boys with a higher BMI have lower values of the Clark angle and the Wejsflog index which are the evidence of a lower longitudinal and transverse arch. Children with higher BMI have higher values of the angle of hallux valgus 

Beata Szczepanowska-Wołowiec

Paulina Sztandera

Directory of Open Access Journals

The analysis of feet construction versus BMI in 8-year-old boys

Szczepanowska-Wołowiec Beata, Sztandera Paulina. The analysis of feet construction versus BMI in 8-year-old boys. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2017;7(9):292-300. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.995681

http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/4844

 

 

 

 

The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 1223 (26.01.2017).

1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7

© The Authors 2017;

This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland

Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License

(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial

use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.

Received: 15.08.2017. Revised: 10.09.2017. Accepted: 10.09.2017.

 

The analysis of feet construction versus BMI in 8-year-old boys

 

Beata Szczepanowska-Wołowiec1,2, Paulina Sztandera3

 

1Department of Rehabilitation in Disease of the Locomotor, Institute of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland Head of the Department: Prof. Ireneusz Kotela MD, PhD

2Rehabilitation Department, Regional Polyclinical Hospital, Kielce, Poland  Head of the Department: Grażyna Ściegienna-Zdeb MD

3Doctoral Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland

 

Beata Szczepanowska-Wołowiec ORCID ID 0000-0002-7051-3042,

email: beatawolowiec@op.pl,

Paulina Sztandera ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1848-562X, email: sztandera.paulina@gmail.com

 

Abstract

Introduction. The foot due to its complex structure provides three basic functions: supportive, locomotive and amortization. The human foot is an important static-dynamic part of the motor system. A properly shaped foot should be supported by three points: the first and the fifth metatarsal bone and the external part of the heel.

Purpose of research. The aim of the study was to analyze the feet construction and find the relationships between the foot structure parameters and BMI among 8-year-old boys.

Material and methods. The study involved 85 boys. The weight and the body height of the children were measured, body mass index was calculated, and the footprint using the was made. On the basis of the foot picture, the basic parameters for foot assessment as well as relations between these indicators and BMI were calculated. Subsequently, the Clarke angle, the hallux valgus angle and Wejsflog index were determined in manual way. Then the dependency between these parameters and BMI was investigated.

Results. The number of lower foot arch or flat foot in the study group amounted to 53%, the transverse flat foot was observed among 17% of the studied boys feet and the hallux valgus angle beyond the norm occurred in 9% of the studied feet. There is a relationship between the Clark’s angle, Wejsflog index, hallux valgus angle α and BMI of boys.

Conclusions. Boys with a higher BMI have lower values of the Clark angle and the Wejsflog index which are the evidence of a lower longitudinal and transverse arch. Children with higher BMI have higher values of the angle of hallux valgus α

Keywords: foot arch, foot structure, children, BMI

ZENODO

Akademicka Platforma Czasopism

 292 Szczepanowska-Wołowiec Beata, Sztandera Paulina. The analysis of feet construction versus BMI in 8-year-old boys. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2017;7(9):292-300. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.995681 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/4844     The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 1223 (26.01.2017). 1223 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7 © The Authors 2017; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 15.08.2017. Revised: 10.09.2017. Accepted: 10.09.2017.  THE ANALYSIS OF FEET CONSTRUCTION VERSUS BMI IN 8-YEAR-OLD BOYS  Beata Szczepanowska-Wołowiec1,2, Paulina Sztandera3  1Department of Rehabilitation in Disease of the Locomotor, Institute of Physiotherapy, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland Head of the Department: Prof. Ireneusz Kotela MD, PhD 2Rehabilitation Department, Regional Polyclinical Hospital, Kielce, Poland  Head of the Department: Grażyna Ściegienna-Zdeb MD 3Doctoral Studies, Faculty of Medicine and Health Science, Jan Kochanowski University, Kielce, Poland  Beata Szczepanowska-Wołowiec ORCID ID 0000-0002-7051-3042,  email: beatawolowiec@op.pl,  Paulina Sztandera ORCID ID: 0000-0002-1848-562X, email: sztandera.paulina@gmail.com  Abstract Introduction. The foot due to its complex structure provides three basic functions: supportive, locomotive and amortization. The human foot is an important static-dynamic part of the motor system. A properly shaped foot should be supported by three points: the first and the fifth metatarsal bone and the external part of the heel. Purpose of research. The aim of the study was to analyze the feet construction and find the relationships between the foot structure parameters and BMI among 8-year-old boys. Material and methods. The study involved 85 boys. The weight and the body height of the children were measured, body mass index was calculated, and the footprint using the was made. On the basis of the foot picture, the basic parameters for foot assessment as well as  293 relations between these indicators and BMI were calculated. Subsequently, the Clarke angle, the hallux valgus angle and Wejsflog index were determined in manual way. Then the dependency between these parameters and BMI was investigated. Results. The number of lower foot arch or flat foot in the study group amounted to 53%, the transverse flat foot was observed among 17% of the studied boys feet and the hallux valgus angle beyond the norm occurred in 9% of the studied feet. There is a relationship between the Clark’s angle, Wejsflog index, hallux valgus angle α and BMI of boys. Conclusions. Boys with a higher BMI have lower values of the Clark angle and the Wejsflog index which are the evidence of a lower longitudinal and transverse arch. Children with higher BMI have higher values of the angle of hallux valgus α Keywords: foot arch, foot structure, children, BMI.  Introduction The foot because of its complex structure provides three basic functions: supportive, locomotive and amortization. The human foot is an important static-dynamic part of the motor system. During its development it has to undergo several adaptations for carrying large and dynamic loads. A properly shaped foot should be supported by three points: the first and the fifth metatarsal bone and the external part of the heel. The foot efficiency primarily depends on properly shaped longitudinal and transverse arches. Improperly formed feet can be a source of problems in an everyday life. Therefore, assessing the feet arches is an important part of diagnosing for preventive and corrective actions [1]. To fulfill the amortization function, the foot should be properly shaped. There are three arches in the foot structure, two longitudinal - lateral and medial and one transverse. The shortest of them is a transverse arch and the longest longitudinal – a medial arch. Any arch disorders – such as its flattening or deepening from the biomechanical point of view –results in a uneconomical gait, run or jump. Any overload pathologies in the foot’ structure may cause problems not only in the foot inself, but also in other parts of the body [2].  Purpose of research. The aim of the study was to analyze the foot construction and find the relationships between the basic foot structure parameters and BMI among 8-year-old boys.     294 Material and methods The study was conducted in the primary schools in 2015 and involved 85 boys. The study was carried out, after obtaining the parents’ consents. The body weight of the children was measured the Tanita device with accuracy of 0,1 kg and the body height was measured with the use of SECA with accuracy of 0,01 m. Then the BMI index was calculated. The photo of the plantar surface of the foot was taken with the 2D podoscanner. The children were examined in their underwear without shoes and socks, the child was standing on the podoscan at full load. In the foot print the computer program calculated the basic feet parameters, and subsequently determined the Clark angle, hallux valgus angle α and Wejsflog index in manual way. The Clark angle is a parameter which serves to evaluate the longitudinal arch of the foot. The norms presented by Kasperczyk [1] and Wilczynski [3] were used in the. The standards of 0-9 ° [1, 3] were adopted for hallux valgus angle α. Wejsflog index evaluates the transverse arch of the feet and it is the proportion of the foot length to its width. The aspect proportions should be 3: 1 the values closer to 2 indicate transverse flat feet, whereas those closer to 3 - properly shaped feet [1, 3]. In the present study, it was assumed that the result up to 2,5 means transverse flat feet whereas above 2,5 – properly shaped feet. For analysing the research the author used MS Office Excel and R.3.3.1 statistical program. For all parameters the  basic measures of descriptive statistics, i.e. mean, standard deviation, minimum and maximum values were used. To examine the relationships the author used nonparametric tests – namely Spearman’s rank correlation analysis. When the level of statistical significance equaled p <0.05. Table 1 presents the main characteristics of the boys’ study group.  Table 1. Characteristics of the study group Parameter Mean Minimum Maximum Standard deviation Body height 1.26 1.17 1.46 0.04 Body mass 26.35 18.00 43,00 5.43 BMI 16.23 11.90 27.75 2.72  Results  Table 2 provides the information of selected feet construction parameters and the basic measures of descriptive statistics characterizing them.     295 Table 2. Selected parameters characterizing the feet construction, arithmetic mean, minimum, maximum, standard deviation Parameter Mean Minimum Maximum Standard deviation Foot length L 197.75 173,00 225.00 10.96 Foot length P 197.59 174.00 225.00 10.77 The width of the forefoot L 75.76 63.00 90,00 4.68 The width of the forefoot P 76.01 67.00 91.00 4.65 Wejsflog index L 2.60 2.37 2.80 0.09 Wejsflog index P 2.60 2.37 2.98 0.09 The  Clarke angle L  41.21 20.00 55.00 5.89 The Clarke angle P 40.23 18.00 53,00 6.09 Hallux valgus angle α L foot 5.67 0.00 15,00 3.25 Hallux valgus angle α P foot 4.32 0.00 14.00 3.19  Table 3, 4, 5 refer to the selected parameters characterizing the feet structure and divide the feet structure division due to these parameters according to the norms provided by Kasperczyk [1] and Wilczyński [3].  Table 3. Longitudinal arch evaluated by the Clarke angle in the study group Clark’s angle Number of feet Feet percentage  Flat foot 5 3% Normal foot 79 46% Lower arch of foot 85 50% Higher arch foot  1 1%  Table 4. Transverese arches of feet in the study group with regard to Wejsflog index Wejsflog index Number of feet Feet percentage  Transverse flat foot 29 17% Normal foot 141 83%  Table 5. Hallux valgus angle in the study group Hallux valgus angle α Number of feet Feet percentage  Beyond the norm 16 9% Normal values 154 91%    296  Figure 1. The relationship between the Clark angle and BMI  Spearman's rank correlation analysis demonstrated that there was a statistically significant negative relationship between BMI and the Clarke angle (ρ = -0.25; p-val = 0.001) (Figure 1).    Figure 2. The relationship between hallux valgus angle and BMI  297 Spearman’s correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship (ρ = 0.21, p-val = 0.005) (Figure 2).   Figure 3. The relationship between Wejslog index and BMI Spearman’s correlation analysis showed the existence of a statistically significant correlation between BMI and Wejsflog index (ρ = -0.26, p-val <0.01) (Figure 3).  Discussion During the body posture development, including the children's feet structure, two critical moments are of great importance. The first is the moment when a child goes to pre-school, after the period when the child was engaged in games and play and now begins a more sedentary lifestyle. The next period is the age of puberty, which comes slightly earlier in girls than in boys. During these periods, special attention should be paid to the somatic posture of children in order to prevent the emergence of new or consolidation of already existing body posture deformities [1]. In literature one may find different ages when the formation of the foot structure among children is finally finished. The authors reported that it is the age of 10-12 [1] up to 15-16 years old [4, 5].   298 Evaluation of the foot structure for physiotherapy  procedures is an important element for patients of all ages. The tool, which was used for this study allows accurate monitoring and evaluation of the foot posture. The effectiveness of the foot structure assessment with the use of this method is confirmed by Mosór, Kromka-Szydek and Mikołajewska [6, 7, 8]. Also, in the opinion of the authors of this publication the podoscanner is a useful tool in practical clinic which might be applied to assess and monitor the effects of treatment of the patients of all ages. In the study group, the mean values of Wejsflog index, hallux valgus angle α remain within the limits presented by Kasperczyk [1] and Wilczyński [3]. The mean values of the Clark angle were slightly lower than the norm presented by these authors, this standard falls within the limits of 42-54 °, but the children’s foot at the age of the study group is still being formed, so it can be assumed that the longitudinal arch has not been fully developed yet. However, it is necessary to pay attention to the foot formation process among those boys. It is important to educate parents and to draw their attention to the problem of the flat feet among children. In the presented study more than a half of the boys’ feet were with low arch or flat feet (53%). Transverse flat feet evaluated using Wejsflog index amounted to 17% and hallux valgus angle α was found beyond the norm among 9% of the boys’ foot. As BMI increases, the values of Wejsflog index, hallux valgus angle α increase too and the values of the Clark angle decrease. It may suggest that when BMI is higher (overweight and obese children), the longitudinal and transverse arches are lower and the values of hallux valgus angle α are higher.  Jankowicz-Szymańska and Pociecha [9], while examining slightly younger children, observed that the longitudinal arch, which was also assessed using the Clark angle, was slightly lower in boys than in girls. Maybe due to that fact in the present study the mean value of the Clark angle among boys was slightly below the norm. As in the study group presented in herein, the relationship between BMI and the Clark angle was found. Puszczałowska-Lizis et al. [10] also found a correlation between the increase body weight and the Clark angle among the studied children from the second grade. The authors observed more frequently lower values of Clark angle in boys than in girls. Pauk et al. [4] and Puzder et al. [11] in their studies also observed that lower longitudinal arch of the foot correlated with the increase body weight or higher BMI. Also Evans [12] who examined children aged between 7-10 in Australia stated that higher BMI providing evidence of overweight or obesity reduces the longitudinal arch of the foot. However, there were also publications in which this relationship was not observed [13, 14].  299  Similar to the studies of Klimczak et al. [15] approximately a half of the feet was properly formed, but in those studies the number of flat feet was much greater than in the present study. The evaluation of the foot structure is an important part of physiotherapy treatment and a crucial aspect at every stage of our life, as prevention is of great importance in case of every postural deformity.  Conclusions 1. Boys with higher BMI, have lower values of the Clark angle and Wejsflog index, which is an evidence of lower longitudinal and transverse arch.  2. Boys with higher BMI have higher values of hallux valgus angle α.   References 1. Kasperczyk T. Wady postawy ciała. Kasper. Kraków; 2002. 2. Kapandji AI. Anatomia funkcjonalna stawów Tom 2. Elsevier Urban&Partner. Wrocław; 2013; 3. Wilczyński J. Korekcja wad postawy człowieka. Anthropos. Satrachowice; 2005. 4. Pauk J, Ezerskiy V, Rogalski M. Wpływ czynników epidemiologicznych na występowanie stopy płaskiej u dzieci. Fizjoterapia. 2010; 18(2): 21-27.  5. Volpon JB. Footprint analysis Turing the growth period. J Pediatr Orthop. 1994; 14: 83-85. 6. Mosór K, Kromka-Szydek M. Pomiar stóp metodą plantokonturograficzną i z wykorzystaniem podoskopu komputerowego. Aktualne Problemy Biomechaniki.  2011; 5: 105-108. 7. Mosór K, Kromka-Szydek M. Wpływ wybranych czynników na parametry stopy w oparciu o badanie podoscopowe. Aktualne Problemy Biomechaniki. 2012; 6: 99-104. 8. Mikołajewska E. Wady stóp dzieci, sposób badania – opis przypadku. Praktyczna Fizjoterapia i Rehabilitacja. 2015; 19(1): 13-20. 9. Jankowicz-Szymańska A, Pociecha M. Zróżnicowanie wysklepienia podłużnego stóp u dzieci w wieku przedszkolnym. Fizjoterapia. 2012; 20(2): 3-11.  300 10. Puszczałowska-Lizs E, Ridan T, Ogarek M. Charakterystyka parametrów wysklepienia podłużnego i poprzecznego stóp u dziewcząt i chłopców w okresie wczesnoszkolnym. Young Sport Science od Ukraine. 2011; 3: 234-239. 11. Puzder A, Gworys K, Kowalewska E, Durka S, Kunikowska B, Kujawa J. Ocena występowania zaburzeń statyki kończyn dolnych wśród dzieci z regionu miejskiego i wiejskiego – badania pilotażowe. Kwart. Ortop. 2011; 4: 377-385. 12. Evans AM. The peadiatric Flat foot and general anthropometry in 140 Australian school children aged 7-10. J Foot Ankle Res. 2011; 4:12.  13. Drzał-Grabiec J. Wpływ masy ciała na wysklepienie łuku podłużnego stóp. Probl Hig Epidemiol. 2012; 93(2): 315-318. 14. Mikołajczyk E. Jankowicz-Szymańska A. Wpływ otłuszczenia na wysklepienie stóp i ukształtowanie kończyn dolnych u 7-latków. Fizjoterapia. 2010; 18(2): 10-20. 15. Klimczak K , Kochański B, Kałużny K, Plaskiewicz A, Smuczyński W, Ratuszek-Sadowska D, Woźniak K, Żukow W. Analiza występowania wad stóp u dzieci w wieku 6-10 lat. Journal of Health Science. 2014; 4(2): 029-038.  

The analysis of feet construction versus BMI in 8-year-old boys

Abstract

Similar works

Full text

Available Versions

Directory of Open Access Journals

ZENODO

Akademicka Platforma Czasopism