A new plantar axis for longitudinal study of gait characteristics

This investigation involved the testing of the suitability of a new plantar axis for the longitudinal study of older adult gait. The targeting involved fastening of small flat robber plugs on the foot sole to provide digital marking in plantar pressure recording. Trial involved 15 adults who performed a two-step gait on a custom-built walking access-ramp. The pressure image recordings were processed to obtain the position of the Centre of Pressure Path (COPP) relative to the new plantar axis. Plantar-Time-Integral (PTI) and Peak Pressure (PP) of four plantar regions were obtained and compared. The findings showed that the difference in the COPP position on the plantar surface was statistically significant at the forefoot region between upslope and downslope access-ramp gait at a recommended maximum grade of 1:8 for older adults. Therefore, the maximum grade affected the stability of gait adversely and further study is required to determine the severity of effect.