AN INVESTIGATION OF THE CENTRES OF PRESSURE UNDER THE FOOT WHILE WALKING

The forces under the foot while walking have been measured using a high sensitivity force-plate of the strip-suspended type combined with simultaneous filming of the sole of the foot. The recording of data and the calculation and plotting of results were much simplified by computer aid. Normal and abnormal feet, both barefoot and shod, were investigated in sixteen subjects. It was found that in normal barefoot walking the forefoot carried a total load of the order of three times that of the heel. When footwear was worn the function of the forefoot was progressively reduced as the rigidity of the sole of the shoe increased. Painful conditions of the forefoot also produced a large reduction in the proportion of the total load transferred.