DOES PES PLANUS PRECONDITION DIMINISHED LEG EXPLOSIVENESS? A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

The urban environment in combination with contemporary living conditions have curtailed the inherent human need for movement, as a consequence of a lack of conditions conducive to essential physical activity. One result of this is the ever increasing incidence of deformities and postural disorders, especially in children. Objective of this pilot study was to ascertain whether children with flat feet have diminished leg explosiveness. The participant sample comprised 55 students aged 14 years ± 6 months, divided into three subsamples: students with a normal foot (NF) (n=30), students with a collapsed arch (CA) (n=15), and students with a completely collapsed arch (CCA) (n=10). The variables for assessing the participants' morphological status: body weight (BW), thigh circumference (TC), circumference of the lower leg (CLL) and foot length (FL). This study used two tests to assess leg explosiveness via vertical jump, namely the squat jump (SJ) and the counter movement jump (CMJ). The variable for determining the foot's postural status was obtained based on an assessment of the degree of arch collapse (ADAC). To determine the degree of deformity and arch collapse, the Chizhin plantography method was used. This study found no statistically significant differences pertaining to indicators of leg explosiveness in relation to the position of the arch between the subsamples of children with flat foot disorder and those without such a postural deformity. One suggestion for future research on this topic is to use a participant sample of a larger size. At the initial measurement, there should be no differences in morphological characteristic values between the subsamples, to avoid an effect on motor ability manifestation.