Biomechanics Research Laboratory, University of Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia.
Gait Posture. 2011 Jul;34(3):347-51. doi: 10.1016/j.gaitpost.2011.05.023. Epub 2011 Jun 22.
Older people with toe deformities have been identified as having an increased risk of falling. Little is known, however, about the biomechanical changes that might contribute to this increased risk. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine whether older people with hallux valgus and lesser toe deformities displayed different gait, balance and plantar pressure characteristics compared to individuals without toe deformities. The presence of hallux valgus and lesser toe deformities were assessed for 312 community-dwelling older men and women. Spatiotemporal gait parameters were measured using the GAITrite(®) system, postural sway was assessed on two surfaces using a sway-meter and dynamic plantar pressure distribution was measured using an Emed-AT4 pressure plate. The results indicated that, although there were no effects of toe deformities on spatiotemporal gait characteristics or postural sway, older people with hallux valgus (n=36) and lesser toe deformities (n=71) were found to display altered forefoot plantar pressure patterns. These findings suggest that toe deformities alter weight distribution under the foot when walking, but that the relationship between toe deformities and falls may be mediated by factors other than changes in spatiotemporal gait parameters or impaired postural sway.
老年人的脚趾畸形已被确定为增加跌倒风险的因素。然而，对于可能导致这种风险增加的生物力学变化知之甚少。因此，本研究的目的是确定患有拇外翻和小趾畸形的老年人与没有脚趾畸形的人相比，步态、平衡和足底压力特征是否存在差异。对 312 名居住在社区的老年男女进行了拇外翻和小趾畸形的评估。使用 GAITrite®系统测量时空步态参数，使用 sway-meter 在两个表面上评估姿势摆动，使用 Emed-AT4 压力板测量动态足底压力分布。结果表明，尽管脚趾畸形对时空步态特征或姿势摆动没有影响，但患有拇外翻（n=36）和小趾畸形（n=71）的老年人被发现显示出前足足底压力模式的改变。这些发现表明，脚趾畸形在行走时改变了足部的重量分布，但脚趾畸形与跌倒之间的关系可能是由时空步态参数变化或姿势摆动受损以外的因素介导的。
