Heel

Engineering

Osteotomy

Plantar pressure

Surgery

Classical mechanics

Mechanical engineering

Gait

Thermodynamics

Physics

Pressure sores

Anatomy

Physical therapy

Orthodontics

Foot Orthoses

Kinematics

Medicine

Physical medicine and rehabilitation

First metatarsal

Foot pressure

Pressure sensor

Gait analysis

Sensors

Flatfoot is a common musculoskeletal deformity. One of the most effective treatments is to wear individually customized plantar pressure-based insoles to help users change the abnormally distributed pressure on the pelma. However, most previous studies were divided only into several plantar areas without detailed plantar characteristic analysis. In this study, a new insole is designed which redistributes pressure following the analysis of characteristic points of plantar pressure, and practical evaluation during walking of subjects while wearing the insole. In total, 10 subjects with flexible flatfeet have participated in the performance of gait experiments by wearing flat insoles, orthotic insoles, and plantar pressure redistribution insoles (PPRI). The results showed that the stance time of PPRI was significantly lower than that of the flat insoles under slow gait. PPRI in the second to third metatarsal and medial heel area showed better unloading capabilities than orthotic insoles. In the metatarsal and heel area, the PPRI also had its advantage in percentage of contact area compared to flat insole and orthotic insole. The results prove that PPRI improves the plantar pressure distribution and gait efficiency of adults with flexible flatfeet, and can be applied into clinical application.

Design and Preliminary Validation of Individual Customized Insole for Adults with Flexible Flatfeet Based on the Plantar Pressure Redistribution