Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the plantar pressure characteristics, foot types and the possible pain profiles in the elite soccer players during static standing and walking.
Methods: Research participants were divided into three groups as follows: 22 male elite college soccer players (ES), 28 male subelite college soccer players (SS) and 32 male sedentary controls. In the research, JC Mat (View Grand International Co., Ltd., Taiwan) optical plantar pressure analysis system was applied to examining whether there were statistically significant differences in the arch index (AI), regional plantar pressure distributions (PPD) and footprint characteristics among three groups. The ES’ pain profiles were examined for evaluating their common pain areas.
Results: According to the findings from the ES, their AI fell into the normal range and their static PPD of both feet was higher at the medial metatarsal bone and the medial heel. Yet, their PPD was mainly transferred to the medial metatarsal bone followed by the medial heel of both feet during the midstance phase of walking. The results showed that the ankle joint and the biceps femoris were the most common musculoskeletal pains in the ES.
Conclusion: On the basis of the findings, the ES’ AI could be classified as normal arches and their PPD tended to parallel the features of pronated feet. The pain profiles appeared to consist with the symptoms of foot pronation. The findings revealed the possible relationships between foot pronation and soccer players, and the correlation is worth further studies.
