THE FRONTAL PLANE RELATIONSHIP OF THE FOREFOOT TO THE REARFOOT IN AN ASYMPTOMATIC POPULATION

Physical therapists use biomechanical orthotics to treat symptoms attr ibuted to structural abnormalities of the feet. The purpose of this st udy was to determine the prevalence of forefoot varus, valgus, and neu tral positions in a healthy population, and to compare forefoot positi ons between genders, legs, and age groups. Nonprobability sampling was used to obtain 120 healthy subjects. A repeated-measures, one-group d esign was used. A forefoot measuring device and a goniometer were used to measure the forefoot-rearfoot frontal plane relationship. Of the 2 34 measured feet, 86.67% had a varus, 8.75% had a valgus, and 4.58% ha d a neutral forefoot-rearfoot relationship. No significant difference in position was found between genders or legs within subjects. A certa in amount of forefoot varus or valgus may be characteristic of a healt hy population; however, future studies should include children and ado lescents to determine if forefoot positions are acquired or congenital .