Relationship between static and dynamic foot postures in professional baseball players

Study Design: Observational study of static and dynamic foot postures in pr ofessional baseball players. Background: Throughout the course of a professional baseball season, runnin g, cutting, and sprinting activities can produce a breakdown in players' lo ot function, causing overuse injuries. Objectives: To investigate the relationship between static and dynamic foot postures; to determine the occurrence of abnormal foot postures in profess ional baseball players and the incidence of overuse injuries in the lower e xtremity, and to compare the foot postures of pitchers to those of position al players. Methods and Measures: The foot postures of 74 professional baseball players were evaluated at rest and during gait. Measures of static loot posture we re obtained with a goniometer and included the subtalar neutral position, f orefoot/rearfoot position, ankle joint dorsiflexion, tibial angle in standi ng, and calcaneal angle in standing. The FootTrak motion analysis system pr ovided measures of dynamic foot posture (rearfoot supination and pronation) during the stance phase of gait. A questionnaire was completed by players who reported previous lower extremity injuries. The chi-square statistic wa s used to determine the associations between forefoot position (varus or va lgus) and the amount of foot pronation during gait. Results: The forefoot varus and calcaneal valgus in standing was significan tly associated with the maximum pronation during the stance phase of gait. Of the 65 players who demonstrated excessive pronation (> 8 degrees), 28 (4 3%) also reported a previous lower extremity injury. No statistically signi ficant difference occurred, however between injured and uninjured players w ith respect to the mean values of static or dynamic foot posture. In additi on, loot postures were not associated with a player's position. Conclusions: Selected measures of static rearfoot and forefoot postures may have value in predicting dynamic rearfoot movement during the stance phase of gait. Excessive pronation in the baseball players we studied was not fo und to be a significant contributing factor in the development of overuse i njuries.