Influence of school backpack load on plantar foot pressure during walking in 9-11 years old girls

• Published in: Central European journal of public health Vol. 30; no. 3; pp. 185 - 189
• Main Authors: Balkó, Štefan, Tufano, James J., Jelínek, Marek, Svoboda, Zdeněk, Błaszczyszyn, Monika, Vaverka, František
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Prague National Institute of Public Health 01.09.2022
• Subjects: Backpacks; Body weight; Children & youth; Contact pressure; Data processing; Gait; Laboratories; Load; Load distribution; Metatarsus; Plantar pressure; Pressure; Pressure distribution; Software; Walking; Belgium
• DOI: 10.21101/cejph.a7109
• ISSN: 1210-7778

Objective: This study aimed to assess the relative load of the midfoot and the metatarsals of both feet when schoolchildren walked with backpacks of different loads. Methods: A group of 12 healthy girls (9.9 ± 0.8 years; 33.8 ± 6.7 kg, 1.40 ± 0.10 m) walked barefoot to assess plantar pressures during gait without load (L0%) and with a loaded backpack equal to 10% (L10%) and 20% (L20%) of their body weight. A Footscan® system (RSscan International, Belgium) was used to determine the contact area and relative pressure impulse in the midfoot and metatarsals on the dominant (DL) and non-dominant legs (NL). Results: The effect of load was significant for the contact area of the midfoot for both NL (p = 0.013) and DL (p = 0.001). In the metatarsals, there was significantly greater relative impulse during L10% compared to L0% in the first (p = 0.041) and second (p = 0.050) metatarsals of the DL. Comparing the NL and DL showed significantly greater relative impulse on the DL in the fourth metatarsal during L10% (p = 0.023), greater contact area in the fifth metatarsal during L0% (p=0.050), and greater impulse in the midfoot during L20% (p=0.028) on the NL. Conclusions: The school backpack load influences relative plantar pressure distribution, especially in the midfoot. Further, our findings suggest greater propulsion of the DL and supporting function of the NL.