Relationship between Lumbar curvatures and Foot Pressure Pattern in Sagittal Plane in Healthy Individuals with a Normal BMI

A review of the literature reveals an enormous number of studies focused on the relationship between the frontal plane deviations and the plantar pressure pattern. However, no study was found on the relationship between the sagittal plane deviations and the plantar pressure pattern. The current study aimed to find out if there is any relationship between the lumbar curvature changes in sagittal plane and the foot pressure pattern in individuals with a normal BMI.

A total of 64 university female students, aged 21.8±1.6 years, with an average BMI of 21.8±1.8, with different lumbar lordosis angles were recruited in the current descriptional-analytical study. The lumbar lordosis angle was measured using a flexible ruler and the plantar pressure pattern was studied making use of a Zebris platform (Zebris, Germany). The data was analyzed running ANOVA and paired t-tests (α=0.05).

No significant relationship was found between the lumbar lordosis angle and the plantar pressure pattern in these participants (p>0.05).

The results of our study revealed that a normal plantar pressure pattern exists in individuals with different lumbar lordosis angles. Therefore, more studies are needed while prescribing therapeutic exercises to patients with normal BMI and low or high lumbar angles.