Effect of experimentally induced plantar pain on trunk posture during gait.
Arito Yozu, Kohta Sonoda, Tetsuya Hasegawa and 5 others
PMID 37670762WHAT IT FOUND
Experimentally induced right plantar pain made healthy young men lean their head, chest and pelvis forward during right stance while walking.
The neck and trunk angles did not change.
Key findings
01During right plantar pain, the head, thorax and pelvis segments tilted forward during right stance, but the neck and trunk joint angles did not show a statistically significant change.
02Pain lengthened stance and shortened swing on the painless left side, shortened right single stance, and lengthened double stance.
03Right plantar pain limited left hip and knee flexion and left ankle plantarflexion around right initial contact, and limited right hip and knee extension and right ankle plantarflexion during right stance.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
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What it does not show
Only 10 healthy young men were studied, so the results may not apply to women, older adults, children or people with chronic foot pain. The pain was artificial pressure from shoe protrusions, not plantar fasciitis pain. Only immediate effects were measured, not long-term adaptation or pain. The no-pain condition always came before the pain condition, so order effects cannot be ruled out. The study measured posture and timing, not clinical outcomes such as low back pain.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as proof that plantar pain causes low back pain in patients. It used 10 healthy young men with artificial plantar pain, measured only immediate gait changes, and did not test clinical outcomes.