Background

Foot pain is a highly prevalent health problem for which measures such as a pattern of Pressure Discomfort Threshold of the foot plantar surface can provide valuable information for orthosis design. This study aimed to describe such pattern as a tool for the assessment of painful conditions of the feet and to analyse how it modifies according to age, gender and obesity.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was performed with participants allocated in: Group 1 people aged 20 to 35 years, Group 2 aged 50 to 65 years and Group 3 aged over 65. Pressure Discomfort Threshold on twelve points of the foot plantar surface was measured with an adapted manual dynamometer. Inferential analyses of the data were performed using one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) considering foot areas, age group, gender and obesity.

Findings

36 participants were analysed. The pattern of Pressure Discomfort Threshold for all individuals showed a significantly higher threshold on the heel and external foot (P < 0.001, η² = 0.124) and was statistical significantly influenced by age (P < 0.001, η² = 0.17), especially in participants aged over 65; by gender, with women having higher values (P < 0.001, η² = 0.13), and by obesity (P < 0.001, η² = 0.19).

Interpretation

A Pressure Discomfort Threshold pattern exists in the foot plantar surface. The characteristics of the discomfort pattern of the foot and its association with aging, gender and obesity may have considerable implications for orthosis and footwear design.

中文翻译：

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年龄，性别和肥胖对足部压力不适阈值的影响：一项横断面研究。

背景

足部疼痛是非常普遍的健康问题，针对该问题，诸如脚底表面压力不适阈值的模式等措施可为矫形设计提供有价值的信息。这项研究旨在将这种模式描述为评估脚部疼痛状况的工具，并分析其如何根据年龄，性别和肥胖症进行调整。

方法

进行了一项横断面研究，参与者分为以下几类：1组年龄在20至35岁的人群，2组年龄在50至65岁的人群和3组年龄在65岁以上的人群。改装的手动测功机。数据的推论分析使用单因素方差分析（ANOVA）进行，其中考虑了脚部区域，年龄组，性别和肥胖症。

发现

分析了36名参与者。压力不适的阈值的所有个人的图案显示在脚跟和外部脚显著更高的阈值（P  <0.001，η ²  = 0.124），并统计由年龄显著影响（P  <0.001，η ²  = 0.17），特别是在65岁以上的参与者；按性别，与具有更高的值（妇女P  <0.001，η ²  = 0.13），以及由肥胖（P  <0.001，η ²  = 0.19）。

解释

足底表面存在压力不适阈值模式。足部不适感的特征及其与衰老，性别和肥胖的关联可能会对矫形器和鞋类设计产生重大影响。