Reliability and Sex Differences in the Foot Pressure Load Balance Test and Its Relationship to Physical Characteristics in Preschool Children

Abstract

This study aimed to examine the trial-to-trial reliability and sex differences in a foot pressure load balance test and its relationship to physical characteristics in 396 preschool children (201 boys and 195 girls). The subjects were asked to maintain an upright standing posture for 10 seconds three times on the Footview Clinic, an instrument designed to calculate the right-left and anterior-posterior ratios of foot pressure load. The ratios of the left and anterior foot pressure loads in right and left feet were selected as variables. Intra-class correlation coefficients between the second and third trials in all variables were high (intra-class correlation coefficients = 0.70 - 0.90). The above variables showed insignificant sex differences and little relationships with physique. When measuring foot pressure load balance, it is desirable to use a mean of the second and third trials as a representative.

Share and Cite:

Matsuda, S. , Demura, S. , Kasuga, K. & Sugiura, H. (2012). Reliability and Sex Differences in the Foot Pressure Load Balance Test and Its Relationship to Physical Characteristics in Preschool Children. Advances in Physical Education, 2, 44-48. doi: 10.4236/ape.2012.22008.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

References

[1] Asirvatham, R. (2001). Foot problems seen in children. Practitioner, 245, 756-759.
[2] Chou, S. W., Cheng, H. Y., Chen, J. H., Ju, Y. Y., Lin, Y. C., & Wong, M. K. (2009). The role of the great toe in balance performance. Journal of Orthopaedic Research, 27, 549-554. doi:10.1002/jor.20661
[3] Cole, T. J., Bellizzi, M. C., Flegal, K. M., & Dietz, W. H. (2000). Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: International survey. British Medical Journal, 320, 1240- 1243. doi:10.1136/bmj.320.7244.1240
[4] Dittmar, M. (2002). Functional and postural lateral preferences in humans: Interrelations and life-span age differences. Human Biology, 74, 569-585. doi:10.1353/hub.2002.0040
[5] Harada, S. (2001). A study on physical structures of preschool children’s feet compared between 1980 and 2000. The Japanese society for Medical Study of Foot Wear, 15, 14-18.
[6] Hills, A. P., Hennig, E. M., McDonald, M., & Bar-Or, O. (2001). Plantar pressure differences between obese and non-obese adults: A biomechanical analysis. International Journal of Obesity, 25, 1674-1679. doi:10.1038/sj.ijo.0801785
[7] Hughes, J., Clark, P., & Klenerman, L. (1990). The importance of the toes in walking. The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, 72, 245-255.
[8] Hutton, W. C., & Dhanendran, M. (1979). A study of the distribution of load under the normal foot during walking. International Orthopaedics, 3, 153-157.
[9] Jackson, A., Jackson, A. S., & Bell, J. (1980). A comparison of alpha and the intraclass reliability coefficients. Research Quarterly for Exercise & Sport, 51, 568-571.
[10] Kulthanan, T., Techakampuch, S., & Bed, N. D. (2004). A study of footprints in athletes and non-athletic people. Journal of the Medical Association of Thailand, 87, 788-793.
[11] Landis, J. R., & Koch, G. G. (1977). The measurement of observer agreement for categorical data. Biometrics, 33, 159-174. doi:10.2307/2529310
[12] Matsuda, S., Demura, S., &Kasuga, K. (2011). Changes in floating-toes one year later in preschool children based on longitudinal data. Japan journal of human growth and development research, 51, 19-26.
[13] Matsuda, S., Demura, S., Miyaguchi, K., Kasuga, K., Kitabayashi, T., Aoki, H., &Yamamoto, Y. (2009). Sex, age, and right and left differences of floating-toe and its relationship with physique in preschool children. The Journal of Education and Health Science, 54, 198-205.
[14] Matsuda, S., Demura, S., Kasuga, K., Aoki H., & Ikemoto Y. (2007). Gender and age differences in the contact area of the soles of the feet and its relationship with physique in preschool children. The Journal of Education and Health Science, 53, 184-193.
[15] Mickle, K. J., Steele, J. R., & Munro, B. J. (2006). The feet of overweight and obese young children: Are they flat or fat? Obesity, 14, 1949-1953. doi:10.1038/oby.2006.227
[16] Peters, M. (1988). Footedness: Asymmetries in foot preference and skill and neuropsychological assessment of foot movement. Psychological Bulletin, 103, 179-192. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.103.2.179
[17] Previc, F. H. (1991). A general theory concerning the prenatal origins of cerebral lateralization in humans. Psychological Review, 98, 299- 334. doi:10.1037/0033-295X.98.3.299
[18] Riddiford-Harland, D. L., Steele, J. R., & Baur, L. A. (2010). Are the feet of obese children fat or flat? Revisiting the debate. International Journal of Obesity, 35, 115-120. doi:10.1038/ijo.2010.119
[19] Shrout, P. E., & Fleiss, J. L. (1979). Intraclass correlations: Uses in assessing rater reliability. Psychological Bulletin, 86, 420-428. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.86.2.420
[20] Tanaka, T., Hashimoto, N., Nakata, M., Ito, T., Ino, S., & Ifukube, T. (1996). Analysis of toe pressures under the foot while dynamic
[21] standing on one foot in healthy subjects. Journal of Orthopaedic & Sports Physical Therapy, 23, 188-193.
[22] Wenger, D. R., & Leach, J. (1986). Foot deformities in infants and children. Pediatric Clinics of North America, 33, 1411-1427.

Copyright © 2024 by authors and Scientific Research Publishing Inc.

Creative Commons License

This work and the related PDF file are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.