Relationship between foot alignment and floating toes classified in static and dynamic conditions in females.
Ryuta Saito, Shogo Okamoto, Rie Nakazawa and 1 others
PMID 30936646WHAT IT FOUND
Healthy women whose floating toes did not improve during toe-grip or forward transfer had lower measured arch height and a larger little-toe angle than women whose toes improved.
Other measured foot alignment items did not differ. The study did not test treatment.
Key findings
01In 122 healthy adult females, 51 (41.8%) had floating toes, and 37 were classified as unimprovable floating toes.
02Among the 35 participants whose foot alignment was measured, the unimprovable floating toe group had a lower arch height index (15.5% ± 2.5%) than the improvable floating toe group (17.6% ± 2.2%).
03The unimprovable floating toe group had a larger digitus minimus varus angle (15.5° ± 5.5°) than the improvable floating toe group (11.3° ± 5.4°), while no significant difference was observed in the other measured alignment items.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for PTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
Only healthy adult females were studied, and they had no lower-limb pathology that could interfere with exercise in the past 6 months, so results may not apply to men, older adults, or people with foot or leg problems. Foot alignment was measured only in 35 randomly selected participants, not in all 122, and the incomplete-contact group was excluded from the alignment comparison. The study compared groups at one time, so it cannot show whether floating toes caused alignment differences or alignment differences contributed to floating toes. Floating-toe groups were classified from pedoscope contact scores, and the authors note that each toe has different anatomical roles, so the classification may not fully capture toe function. No intervention or clinical outcome such as pain, gait, balance, or treatment response was tested.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that low arch height or a large little-toe angle causes floating toes, or that foot exercises will fix them. The study only measured associations at one time, and the alignment differences were between floating-toe subgroups, not a tested treatment effect.