MEASUREMENT OF PLANTAR PRESSURE WHEN WALKING WITH AND WITHOUT AN AID

Objective: To estimate plantar pressure when subjects walked with and without a cane at three different heights. Materials and Methods: This was an analytical cross-sectional study of 15 healthy subjects, 13 females (86.7%) and two males (13.4%). Initially, the subjects walked along a corridor approximately 10 m long while wearing a sandal with sensors on each foot. Then, they repeated the walk three times with the sandals, each time using a cane set at one of three different heights. Results: The mean pressures on C1 load cells were greater than the pressures on C5 load cells (p<0.10) when the subjects walked with a cane that was shorter than the appropriate height (p<0.10); in C6 relative to C2 when subjects walked without a cane (p<0.01), with a cane of appropriate height (p<0.05), 5 cm below the appropriate height (p<0.05) and 5 cm above the appropriate height (p<0.10); and in C7 relative to C3 when subjects walked without a cane (p<0.10). The average pressure on all cells showed differences in C2 (p<0.10), C5 (p<0.05) and C6 (p<0.01) when subjects walked without the cane, with the cane at the appropriate height and with the cane at either 5 cm above or below the appropriate height. The mean stride time was shorter through cell signals C4T (p<0.05) and C8T (p<0.01) when the subjects walked without a cane. Conclusion: Cane height did not directly influence plantar pressure in specific regions of the subjects’ feet, nor did it influence stride time in the right or left hindfoot during walking.