Plantar pressure distribution in elderly subjec Ts after proprioceptive exercises

Abstract

Changes related to aging limit cutaneous plantar perception, interfering in postural control. The aim of this study was to verify the effects of a regular program of proprioceptive intervention on plantar pressure distribution in older adults. Plantar pressure distribution was evaluated in 29 volunteers (63.06 ±2.84 years) standing on both feet with eyes open (EO) and eyes closed (EC). After baropodometric evaluation, the subjects attended 3 weekly proprioceptive intervention sessions of 1 hour’s duration for 3 months. Results: Prior to the intervention, participants exhibited mean EO values of 0.29 ±0.044 Kg/cm² for the right foot and 0.31 ±0.04 Kg/cm² for the left foot (p=0.0078) and post-intervention these were 0.28±0.04 Kg/cm² and 0.30±0.04 Kg/cm², respectively. Pre-intervention EC values were 0.30 ±0.044 Kg/cm² for the right and 0.31 ±0.05 Kg/cm² for the left foot and post-intervention these figures were 0.28 ±0.04 Kg/cm² and 0.29 ±0.049 Kg/cm², respectively. The results of MANOVA indicated significant differences in contact pressure between pre-intervention and post-intervention measurements. Conclusions: The intervention used here reduced the participants’ plantar pressure, but was unable to improve the distribution of plantar pressure between the right and left feet.