Price Carina, McClymont Juliet, Hashmi Farina, Morrison Stewart C, Nester Christopher
1Centre for Health Sciences Research, University of Salford, Frederick Road, Salford, UK.
2School of Health Sciences, University of Brighton, Darley Road, Eastbourne, UK.
J Foot Ankle Res. 2018 Jun 20;11:33. doi: 10.1186/s13047-018-0273-2. eCollection 2018.
An improved understanding of the structural and functional development of the paediatric foot is fundamental to a strong theoretical framework for health professionals and scientists. An infant's transition from sitting, through crawling and cruising, to walking is when the structures and function of the foot must adapt to bearing load. The adaptation of skin and other hard and soft tissue, and foot and gait biomechanics, during this time is poorly understood. This is because data characterising the foot tissue and loading pre-walking onset does not exist. Of the existing kinematic and plantar pressure data, few studies have collected data which reflects the real-life activities of infants with modern equipment.
This is a longitudinal study and part of the Great Foundations Initiative, a collaborative project between the University of Brighton and the University of Salford, which is seeking to improve foot health in children. Two cohorts of 50 infants will be recruited at the two sites (University of Brighton, Eastbourne, UK and University of Salford, Salford, UK). Infants will be recruited when they first reach for their feet and attend four laboratory visits at milestones related to foot loading, with experienced independent walking being the final milestone. Data collection will include tissue characteristics (skin thickness, texture, elasticity, pH and tendon thickness and cross-sectional area), plantar pressures and kinematics captured during real world locomotion tasks.
This study will provide a database characterising the development of the infant foot as it becomes a weight bearing structure. The data will allow effective comparison and quantification of changes in structure and function due to maturation and loading by measuring pre and post established walking. Additional variables which impact on the development of the foot (gender, ethnicity and body weight) will also be factored into our analysis. This will help us to advance understanding of the determinants of foot development in early childhood.
深入了解小儿足部的结构和功能发育，对于健康专业人员和科学家构建坚实的理论框架至关重要。婴儿从坐立，经过爬行和扶着家具行走，再到学会走路的过程中，足部的结构和功能必须适应承受体重。在此期间，皮肤及其他软硬组织、足部和步态生物力学的适应性变化尚不清楚。这是因为缺乏表征步行开始前足部组织和负荷的数据。在现有的运动学和足底压力数据中，很少有研究使用现代设备收集反映婴儿实际活动的数据。
这是一项纵向研究，是布莱顿大学和索尔福德大学合作开展的“伟大基础计划”的一部分，该计划旨在改善儿童足部健康。将在两个地点（英国布莱顿大学、伊斯特本和英国索尔福德大学、索尔福德）招募两组各50名婴儿。婴儿在首次伸手够脚时被招募，并在与足部负荷相关的里程碑阶段参加四次实验室检查，以熟练独立行走作为最后一个里程碑。数据收集将包括组织特征（皮肤厚度、质地、弹性、pH值以及肌腱厚度和横截面积）、在实际运动任务中捕获的足底压力和运动学数据。
本研究将提供一个数据库，描述婴儿足部成为承重结构时的发育情况。通过测量既定步行前后的情况，这些数据将能够有效比较和量化由于成熟和负荷导致的结构和功能变化。影响足部发育的其他变量（性别、种族和体重）也将纳入我们的分析。这将有助于我们进一步了解幼儿足部发育的决定因素。
