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- Author or Editor: Martin Mussman x
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Accurate, consistent measurement of foot-ankle geometry is essential for the design and manufacture of well-fitting, functional, comfortable footwear; for the diagnosis of certain biomechanical disorders; and for consistent longitudinal monitoring and assessment of pedorthic treatment outcomes. We sought to formulate a basic set of measures characterizing the principal geometric dimensions of the foot, to investigate how these measures vary with increasing weightbearing, and to explore the implications of weightbearing changes in pedal geometry for orthopedic footwear design and manufacture. The right feet of 40 healthy men aged 22 to 71 years were scanned using the Department of Veterans Affairs Pedorthics Optical Digitizer in neutral alignment, sequentially bearing 0%, 10%, 25%, 50%, and 100% of the subjects’ body weight. With support of the full body weight, the following mean changes in the pedal parameters were observed: heel-to-toe length, 1.5%; ball width, 4.3%; maximum heel width, 4.8%; and instep height, –9.3%. On average, 71% of the changes sustained in the pedal parameters at full weightbearing occurred when, or before, 25% of the body weight was applied. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 96(4): 330–343, 2006)
Background: Morphological and geometric differences between male and female feet can be the decisive factor of whether well-fitting, functional, and comfortable footwear is available for both men and women.
Methods: Optical scans, plaster wrap casts, and a set of manual measurements from the right feet of 51 female participants, aged 20 to 59 years (32 ± 10.2 years), and 39 male participants, aged 22 to 71 years (47.1 ± 12.1 years), were taken to determine which parameters were the most significant in characterizing pedal geometry and which had the largest difference between male and female feet.
Results: Analysis showed that the heel-to-ball length (ball length) of the male participants’ feet (181.5 mm) was significantly longer, on average, than that of the female participants’ feet (165.0 mm). The width of the male paticipants’ feet at the ball, instep, and heel regions, as well as the ball circumference, normalized by the ball length, were all significantly larger on average, than the female test participants’ feet. However, toe region, instep, and medial and lateral malleoli heights were larger, on average, for the female participants than for the male. The results show that female feet differ in size and shape from male feet and are not algebraically scaled, smaller versions of male feet, as is often assumed.
Conclusions: The study shows that the average male participants’ feet are longer than that of the female participants’ feet, while the female feet are relatively narrower but higher than those of the male participants. (J Am Podiatr Med Assoc 99(5): 383–390, 2009)
