Although it has been well-documented that older adults spend a significant amount of time being sedentary and have slower gait velocity, little is known of how physical fitness mediates the association between them. The main purpose of this study was to explore whether objectively measured physical fitness mediates the association between domain-specific and total sedentary behavior and gait velocity. We recruited 120 older adults aged ≥ 60 years. Sedentary behavior was assessed by the Measure of Older Adults’ Sedentary Time questionnaire. We used a Zebris pressure platform to assess gait velocity. To assess the level of overall physical fitness, we summed the z-scores of seven tests: (1) waist circumference, (2) chair stand in 30 s, (3) arm curl in 30 s, (4) 2-min step test, (5) chair sit-and-reach test, (6) back scratch test, and (7) 8-foot up-and-go test. Overall physical fitness was obtained by summing up all physical test z-scores. Gait velocity was significantly associated with all domain-specific and total sedentary behavior (β = −0.04 to −0.35, p < 0.05). Overall physical fitness was significantly associated with all domain-specific and total sedentary behavior (β = −0.21 to −1.24, p < 0.001) and gait velocity (β = 0.23 to 0.24, p < 0.001). When physical fitness was put as the mediator, significant direct effects between sedentary behavior and gait velocity disappeared. Results indicate that physical fitness fully mediates the association between sedentary behavior and gait velocity in older adults.

Purpose: The main purpose of the study was to establish a gait speed cutoff value to predict foot pain and the risk of falls among community-dwelling older adults. Patients and Methods: In this cross-sectional study, one-hundred and twenty White older women speaking Croatian (mean ± SD age 71.02 ± 6.78 years, height 161.77 ± 6.23 cm, weight 70.29 ± 12.97 kg, body mass index 26.79 ± 4.42 kg/m 2) were recruited. The prevalence of foot pain was assessed by a single-item question and the risk of falls by the Downtown Fall Risk Index with a proposed cutoff value of "low risk" (<3 points) vs "high risk" (≥3 points) of falls. Self-selected gait speed (the independent variable) was estimated with a pressure platform (Zebris Company, Munich, Germany). Results: Mean gait speed was 0.95 m/s. Of the total sample, 53.30% and 33.30% reported foot pain and had higher risk of falls. For foot pain and the risk of falls, gait speed cutoff values were 0.88 m/s and 0.85 m/s (area under the curve = 0.80 and 0.83, standard error = 0.043 and 0.043, p < 0.001). Sensitivity for foot pain and the risk of falls was 66.20% and 85.90% and specificity was 84.80% and 69.00%. Slower gait speed was associated with higher prevalence of foot pain (OR = 10.92, 95% CI 4.28 to 27.89, p < 0.001) and higher risk of falls (OR = 13.59, 95% CI 5.45 to 33.87, p < 0.001). Conclusion: Proposed gait speed values of 0.88 m/s and 0.85 m/s may be used in clinical settings to predict foot pain and the risk of falls among community-dwelling older women.

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The main purpose of the study was to establish foot characteristics during walking in children. In this cross-sectional study, we recruited 1 284 primary-school students aged 6-14 years (714 boys and 570 girls) randomly selected from five schools in the city of Brno, Czech Republic. Children walked across a pressure platform (EMED-xl; Novel GmbH , Munich, Germany) to collect the data for both left and right foot during three trials. After the procedure, the software generated several foot characteristic variables: (1) force-time integral, (2) pressure-time integral, (3) contact area, (4) contact time, (5) peak pressure and (6) average pressure for the total foot. Curves for the 5 th , 10 th , 25 th , 50 th , 75 th , 90 th and 95 th percentiles were calculated using the Lambda, Mu and Sigma (LMS) Chartmaker software. Our results showed that boys had longer force-time integral, higher contact area and contact time values, and higher peak plantar pressure, while no significant differences in pressure-time integral and average plantar pressure between sexes were observed. Older boys and girls had higher values in all measured variables. Our results provide for the first-time sex-and age-specific foot characteristics during walking in 6-14-year-old children. Foot characteristics in children have become well-studied in the past 15 years. Some of them, like plantar pressures, represent the force applied to the ground and its distribution over the foot plantar surface area 1. According to previous evidence, peak vertical ground reaction forces may generate up to 120% of body weight 2 , where several tenth or hundred tones can be absorbed by each foot 3. Since walking is one of the main biological needs of individuals, constant high loadings lead to pain and discomfort in the region of lower extremities 4,5. Such conditions have been proven to effect on health-related factors, reducing the level of physical activity 5 or gaining weight 6. Children are at vulnerable risk for developing acute and chronic foot diseases 7 , since their feet still have immature structure and are under developmental phase 8. From a biological point of view, children experience normal growth and have flexible flat feet 9. Despite that, studies have shown that parents are frequently worried about their children's feet and seek additional medical attention 9-11. The most common external factor influencing normal foot structure is ill-fitting shoes, which often deviate from normal function and increase plantar pressure distribution 12. Moreover, previous evidence has suggested that foot pain and discomfort have been associated with higher levels of plantar pressures in adults 13,14 , leading to the conclusion that force and pressure beneath the foot are important determinants of the foot. Thus, including plantar pressure variables within health surveillance systems should be of important interest for health-related professions to screen appropriate loading and temporal properties of the foot. After an extensive literature review, we found no studie...

(1) Background: The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH) as a primary or secondary diagnosis during physiotherapy practice. No other studies have investigated the prevalence and associations of DDH within the practice of pediatric rehabilitation. (2) Methods: This retrospective review was performed on 12,225 physiotherapy referrals to the King Abdullah Specialized Children’s Hospital (KASCH), Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, from May 2016 to October 2021. Only DDH referrals for conservative treatment were included in the study. The plan for brace treatment was carried out by the pediatric orthopedics clinic in KASCH. The diagnostic methods were either a pelvic radiograph or ultrasound, depending on the participant’s age. DDH is considered one of the most common secondary complications for children with other medical diagnoses. (3) Results: The most common indication for referral was neurological diagnosis (44%), followed by orthopedic (28%), genetic (19%), cardiac (5%), ophthalmologic (3%), dermatologic (1%) and rheumatologic (0.5%) diagnoses. (4) Conclusion: The prevalence of DDH among all referrals in this study was 6%. In physiotherapy practice, neurologic, genetic, and orthopedic primary or secondary diagnoses were the most prevalent when DDH referrals were investigated. A relatively high prevalence of DDH in the pediatric rehabilitation clinic at KASCH in Riyadh was reported in this study.