Changes in plantar load distribution in legally blind subjects

• Published in: PLOS ONE Vol. 16; no. 4; p. e0249467
• Main Authors: Castro, Ketlin Jaquelline Santana, Salomão, Railson Cruz, Feitosa, Newton Quintino, Henriques, Leonardo Dutra, Kleiner, Ana Francisca Rozin, Belgamo, Anderson, Cabral, André Santos, Costa e Silva, Anselmo Athayde, Callegari, Bianca, Souza, Givago Silva
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science (PLoS) 15.04.2021; Public Library of Science
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Balance; Biology and Life Sciences; Blindness; Body weight; Coordination; Demographic aspects; Editing; Equilibrium; Equilibrium (Physiology); Evaluation; Female; Foot; Foot - physiology; Funding; Genetic aspects; Human motion; Humans; Load distribution; Load distribution (forces); Maintenance; Male; Medicine; Medicine and Health Sciences; Metatarsal Bones; Metatarsal Bones - physiology; Methodology; Middle Aged; Model testing; Muscle strength; Physiological aspects; Plantar pressure; Postural Balance; Posture; Pressure; Pressure distribution; Proprioception; Q; R; Reflexes; Reviews; Science; Social Sciences; Stress concentration; Vestibular system; Vibration; Vision disorders; Visual impairment; Visually Impaired Persons; Young Adult; Brazil; Italy
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249467

We investigated the impact of visual impairment on balance control. We measured the center of pressure (COP) between the two feet and plantar surface pressures on each foot in 18 normal-sighted participants and compared their data with measures from 18 legally blind participants, either acquired or congenital. Pressures were measured in open- and closed-eye conditions using a baropodometric resistive plate. In the eyes-open condition, there were no differences between the sighted and legally blind groups in COP displacement. However, participants with visual loss had significantly increased pressures in two metatarsal regions (M1 and M2 zones) of the plantar surface in both viewing conditions (p < 0.05). The differences in pressure measures between the normally sighted and legally blind groups could be attributed mainly to the subgroup of subjects with acquired impairment. Our findings suggest that subjects with visual impairment present increased metatarsal pressures (i.e. forefoot), not yet associated to anterior displacement of COP or impaired balance control.