open access

Vol 76, No 4 (2017)
Original article
Submitted: 2017-03-13
Accepted: 2017-05-01
Published online: 2017-05-25
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How the three arches of the foot intercorrelate

A. S. Gwani1, M. A. Asari2, Z. I. Mohd Ismail2
·
Pubmed: 28553850
·
Folia Morphol 2017;76(4):682-688.
Affiliations
  1. Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University
  2. Universiti Sains Malaysia

open access

Vol 76, No 4 (2017)
ORIGINAL ARTICLES
Submitted: 2017-03-13
Accepted: 2017-05-01
Published online: 2017-05-25

Abstract

Background: The foot is composed of medial, lateral and transverse arches which, particularly the medial arch, provide it with the ability to function both as a flexible and rigid structure for proper locomotion. Arches of the foot, as well as their effect on lower extremity function, have been studied. However, quantitative data on the relationship between these arches still remain scanty. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine how the three arches of the foot intercorrelate.

Materials and methods: Seventy-six participants (58 males, 18 females) were recruited to participate in the study. Bilateral weight-bearing lateral radiographs of the right foot were taken from each participant. Navicular heights (NH), medial cuneiform height (MCH), calcaneal inclination angle (CIA) and calcaneal-first metatarsal angle (C1MA) were measured to represent the medial arch. The lateral arch was represented by cuboid height (CH) and calcaneal-fifth metatarsal angle (C5MA) whereas; MCH and CH represented the transverse arch. Mean difference of variables between males and females was compared using independent t-test while the correlation between the variables was determined using Pearson correlation.

Results: All the variables were not significantly related to gender. Significant moderate to excellent linear correlations were observed between the variables. CIA showed the strongest correlation with C1MA (r = –0.90) and C5MA (r = –0.84) whereas, CH had the least correlation with other variables.

Conclusions: The moderate to excellent correlations between the variables indicate that deformation or elevation of the medial arch may consequently result in similar movements of the lateral and transverse arches and vice versa.

Abstract

Background: The foot is composed of medial, lateral and transverse arches which, particularly the medial arch, provide it with the ability to function both as a flexible and rigid structure for proper locomotion. Arches of the foot, as well as their effect on lower extremity function, have been studied. However, quantitative data on the relationship between these arches still remain scanty. The purpose of this study was, therefore, to examine how the three arches of the foot intercorrelate.

Materials and methods: Seventy-six participants (58 males, 18 females) were recruited to participate in the study. Bilateral weight-bearing lateral radiographs of the right foot were taken from each participant. Navicular heights (NH), medial cuneiform height (MCH), calcaneal inclination angle (CIA) and calcaneal-first metatarsal angle (C1MA) were measured to represent the medial arch. The lateral arch was represented by cuboid height (CH) and calcaneal-fifth metatarsal angle (C5MA) whereas; MCH and CH represented the transverse arch. Mean difference of variables between males and females was compared using independent t-test while the correlation between the variables was determined using Pearson correlation.

Results: All the variables were not significantly related to gender. Significant moderate to excellent linear correlations were observed between the variables. CIA showed the strongest correlation with C1MA (r = –0.90) and C5MA (r = –0.84) whereas, CH had the least correlation with other variables.

Conclusions: The moderate to excellent correlations between the variables indicate that deformation or elevation of the medial arch may consequently result in similar movements of the lateral and transverse arches and vice versa.

Get Citation

Keywords

foot, arch, correlation, morphology, deformity

About this article
Title

How the three arches of the foot intercorrelate

Journal

Folia Morphologica

Issue

Vol 76, No 4 (2017)

Article type

Original article

Pages

682-688

Published online

2017-05-25

Page views

3825

Article views/downloads

3760

DOI

10.5603/FM.a2017.0049

Pubmed

28553850

Bibliographic record

Folia Morphol 2017;76(4):682-688.

Keywords

foot
arch
correlation
morphology
deformity

Authors

A. S. Gwani
M. A. Asari
Z. I. Mohd Ismail

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