The effect of age and body mass index on plantar cutaneous sensation in healthy women.

The study compared groups and did not test a treatment, so it cannot show that changing weight or doing foot sensation exercises would improve balance. Only healthy women were included, and women with foot skin disease, foot swelling, neurological disease, heart or lung disease, muscle or joint disease, diabetes-related nerve problems, or recent foot injury were excluded. Participants were volunteers recruited from family clinics and were mostly housewives with low education, so they may not represent all women. The authors did not measure how load was distributed on the feet, which they identified as a limitation. Foot pain was rated on a scale, but its location was not examined, so pain and sensation links in specific foot areas are unclear. Findings were not uniform across all tested plantar areas, and some age and BMI differences were limited to selected areas.

The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest.

Do not read this as evidence that losing weight or doing foot sensation exercises will improve balance. The study measured plantar sensation and foot pain in healthy women and did not test an intervention or fall outcomes.