Investigating the Effects of High-arch and Flat Foot Deformities on Postural Control: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Introduction: High-arch and flat foot deformities can negatively impact an individual’s performance in different situations. They may also balance as well as disturb postural control, which is essential for performing optimal routine and port activities, in addition to preventing injuries. This is a comparative meta-analysis of postural control in people with high-arch and flat foot deformities with normal feet. Materials and Methods: This is a systematic review of articles published from 2004 to 2021 in Medline/PubMed, Embase/Scopus, LILACS, CINAHL, CENTRAL (cochrane central register of controlled trials), Web of Science, PEDro, and Google Scholar databases. Results: The results revealed that the total balance score in people with high-arch and flat foot deformities was lower (P=0.001), compared to normal people. However, no significant difference was observed in the total balance of people with high-arch and flat foot deformities (P>0.05). Additionally, flat-foot people showed a weaker balance in the postural control test on a force plate, when compared to individuals with high-arch feet (P=0.001). Nevertheless, the results of dynamic balance were the same for all groups (P>0.05). Conclusion: Our findings indicate that people with high-arch and flat foot deformities suffer from weaker postural control when compared to their normal peers. Moreover, flat-foot people showed lower scores on postural control tests on force plates, compared to subjects with higharch feet, even though they had no significant differences for static and dynamic tests. There was no difference in the results of dynamic balance among the 3 groups.