Energy cost of walking with flat feet

Abstract

A comparative study has been conducted to assess the effects of arch support on oxygen consumption in 20 subjects with flat feet who were generally complaining about fatigue, and also to explore whether their feeling of weariness was objective or not. The resting, walking and final recovery heart rates, blood pressures, and walking oxygen consumption values of the patients with flat feet were measured and calculated and compared to a control group using treadmill and oxygen consumption devices. In stage one the patients did not wear any arch support. Then suitable arch supports were prepared for each patient and in stage two they wore these arch supports. The results did not show any significant difference between the resting heart rates, blood pressure and oxygen consumptions. However, differences in walking heart rate, systolic blood pressure, final recovery heart rate, oxygen consumption, and energy cost values were found to be significant between stage one and two of the test in the patient group. The difference in walking diastolic blood pressure values without and with arch support were found to be insignificant. It may therefore be deduced that oxygen consumption during walking is decreased when a suitable arch support is applied to patients with flat feet.

Efficacy of foot orthoses. What does the literature tell us?

“…However, rather than using "functional" FOs, this study used Sorbothane insoles. Further to this, a positive effect was found by Otman et al (1988) who measured a decrease in oxygen consumption in people with flat feet when they walked with "arch supports".…”

A Comparison of Postural Stability during Upright Standing between Normal and Flatfooted Individuals, Based on COP-Based Measures

“…In this study, the COP-based measures in the ML direction revealed differences between dissimilar foot arches ( Table 6). Previous studies of flat feet have not specifically explored the direction of changes in postural stability [5,[12][13][14]. Among the methods used in these studies, COP-based assessments appear to be the easiest for clinicians to conduct and quantify for use in assessing improvements in, or identifying appropriate management for, individuals with flat feet.…”

“…For people with abnormal flat-footed structures, the ability to absorb shock and thus to maintain postural stability is reduced. This may result in inflammation of the plantar fascia, plantar lesions, and body pain, and may even lead to an increased risk of falling [4][5][6][7]. In this way, the structure of the foot arch is important for posture [8], and may be an important variable to assess during pre-participation physical examinations [3,9].…”

Functional impact of custom‐made foot orthoses in patients with haemophilic ankle arthropathy

“…Otman et al [41] reported an 8% decrease in oxygen consumption in flat feet patients when walking with OI. Furthermore, Kavlak et al [40] showed that using OI for 3 months lowered energy expenditure during gait in RA patients.…”