Foot morphology and its relationship to arch height index in asymptomatic adults versus adults presenting with foot pain (nontraumatic)

Abstract

Background: The uniqueness of the human foot, in performing various functions, is intricately associated with different morphological parameters, and arch height index (AHI) is an important parameter for the same. The measurement of AHI has putative clinical implications in correcting the underlying causative factors, which contribute to foot pain. This study was an attempt to investigate these parameters as a correlation among asymptomatic versus patients complaining of foot pain (due to nontraumatic causes). Methodology: One hundred asymptomatic and 50 symptomatic adults were engaged in the study after taking prior consent. Various measurements (such as foot length, truncated foot length, foot breadth, arch height – [AH], and AHI) were taken in a standing position. In this study values of foot length, truncated foot length, foot breadth, AH and AHI were compared amongst the two groups . Comparison was done with earlier studies. Results: The difference in AH and AHI (P < 0.05) among the asymptomatic versus the foot pain patients, was significant. There was a considerable difference in body weight and Body Mass Index (BMI) affecting AH and AHI. AHI in the case of the symptomatic foot pain adults was 0.18 in both feet, with a standard deviation (SD) of 0.07. Conclusion: The AHI has been considered an essential parameter in defining and identifying the potential structural factors that predispose an individual to injuries of the foot. Our results indicate that the mean AHI in the case of foot pain adults (nontraumatic) was 0.18 in both feet, with an SD of 0.07. This is lower as compared to other studies. This can be attributed to the fact that earlier studies have been done on asymptomatic patients only. The present study was done to correlate between normal asymptomatic versus foot pain patients. There was a significant difference in the AH and AHI between our two study groups.