Reliability of plantar pressure and postural control measures of children from 4 to 12 years: analysis by baropodometry

Abstract Aim: Baropodometry is used to map pressure areas and plantar pressure oscillation, however, children’s evaluation reliability is not established. To establish the intra-rater and inter-rater reliability of baropodometry for analysis of plantar support and postural control (stabilometry) of children. Materials and Methods: Reliability study. The sample consisted of 112 healthy children of both sexes; aged 4 to 12 years old. For the baropodometer analysis, children were positioned in orthostatic position, bipodal support, with parallel and bare feet during four rounds of 15-second evaluations, executed by two independent evaluators. In order to establish the reliability of the results at different age ranges, participants were divided into two groups: children ages 7 years and younger (n = 44) and children aged 8 to 12 years old (n = 68). The variables analyzed were pressure area and maximum plantar pressure, area, and amplitude of oscillation of the center of pressure. Results: Reliability was rated from good to excellent for the intra- and inter-evaluators (ICC 0.81-0.86 and ICC 0.87-0.95, respectively) on plantar pressure variables, and poor to moderate for the center of pressure oscillations (ICC 0.33-0.55; ICC 0.47-0.57, intra and inter-evaluators, respectively). Conclusion: Excellent baropodometry reliability was observed when analyzing children’s plantar pressure at different age groups, and a single evaluation established reliable results. However, the stabilometry analysis with a baropodometer has poor reliability, and therefore, it should not be used for children aged 4 to 12 for postural control.

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Bittar,Karina Correia Bonalumi, Oliveira,Simone Saldanha Ignacio de, Michel,Maria Cristina Buta, Terçarolli,Sérgio Pollizio, Zamboti,Camile Ludovico, Macedo,Christiane de Souza Guerino
Format:	Digital revista
Language:	English
Published:	Universidade Estadual Paulista 2020
Online Access:	http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1980-65742020000300304
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