Background: The intent of this pilot study was to determine the feasibility of using high-speed stereo radiography (HSSR) to assess the effectiveness of footwear and foot orthoses in controlling the change in the position of the midfoot during walking in individuals with a flexible pes planus foot type.
Methods: Four individuals (1 female; 3 male) with a mean age of 25 years (range 22-29) and a bilateral flexible pes planus foot type participated in the study. The HSSR system was used to measure 3-dimensional changes in the longitudinal arch angle (LAA) with each participant walking barefoot, shoe only and shoes with orthoses.
Results: The HSSR system was found to be highly effective in measuring the change in the position of the midfoot, as measured using the LAA, when wearing footwear with or without foot orthoses. Based on an assessment of mean values, three out of the four participants demonstrated a change in the LAA as a result of using either shoes only or shoes with orthoses. The methodology used in this pilot study for assessing the effect of footwear and foot orthoses on the posture of the midfoot was highly effective with no side-effects noted by any of the study participants.
Conclusions: Future studies using the HSSR will require modifications to participant inclusion criteria as well as alterations to the data collection methodology. The HSSR system used in this study is feasible for use in larger cohort studies assessing footwear and foot orthosis effectiveness with the described modifications.
Keywords: Foot orthoses; Midfoot posture; Stereo radiography; Walking.
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