Background. The plantar soft tissue plays a critical role in absorbing shocks and attenuating excessive stresses during walking. Plantar soft tissue property and plantar pressure are critical information for footwear design and clinical assessment. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between plantar soft tissue hardness and plantar pressure during walking. Methods. 59 healthy volunteers (27 males and 32 females, aged 20 to 82) participated in this study. The plantar surface was divided into five regions: lateral rearfoot, medial rearfoot, lateral midfoot, lateral forefoot, and medial forefoot, and the plantar tissue hardness was tested using Shore durometer in each region. Average dynamic pressures in each region were analyzed for the five regions corresponding to the hardness tests. The relationship between hardness and average dynamic pressure was analyzed in each region. Results. The average hardness of the plantar soft tissue in the above five regions is as follows: lateral rearfoot (), medial rearfoot (), lateral midfoot (), lateral forefoot (), and medial forefoot (). Differences of hardness were observed between age groups, and hardness of plantar soft tissues in forefoot regions increased with age (). A negative relationship was found between plantar soft tissue hardness and pressure reduction at lateral rearfoot, medial rearfoot, and lateral midfoot (). Conclusion. The hardness of plantar soft tissues changes with age in healthy individuals, and there is a trend of increasing hardness of the plantar soft tissue with age. The plantar soft tissue hardness increases with plantar pressure.

中文翻译：

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健康成人足底软组织硬度及其与足底压力分布的潜在相关性调查

背景。足底软组织在吸收冲击和减轻行走过程中的过度压力方面起着至关重要的作用。足底软组织特性和足底压力是鞋类设计和临床评估的关键信息。本研究的目的是调查步行时足底软组织硬度与足底压力之间的关系。方法. 59 名健康志愿者（27 名男性和 32 名女性，年龄在 20 至 82 岁之间）参与了这项研究。足底表面分为五个区域：外侧后足、内侧后足、外侧中足、外侧前足和内侧前足，并在每个区域使用邵氏硬度计测试足底组织硬度。分析了对应于硬度测试的五个区域的每个区域的平均动态压力。分析了各个区域的硬度与平均动压之间的关系。结果。上述五个区域足底软组织的平均硬度为：外侧后足（),后脚内侧 (），外侧中足（),外侧前脚掌 ()，和内侧前脚掌 (）。各年龄组间硬度存在差异，前足区域足底软组织硬度随年龄增长而增加。）。足底软组织硬度与后足外侧、后足内侧和中足外侧的压力降低呈负相关。）。 结论。健康个体足底软组织的硬度随着年龄的增长而变化，并且随着年龄的增长，足底软组织的硬度有增加的趋势。足底软组织硬度随足底压力增加。