The Relationship between Planter Arch and Motor Ability in Children Aged 0 to 12

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to determine the development of plantar arch in children aged from 0 to 12, and also to determine the relationship between plantar arch and motor ability in different groups, namely boys and girls at preschool and school age, respectively. The plantar arches of 6802 subjects were scanned by Pedoscope, and the subjects were engaged in 3 field-based physical fitness tests: sprint (25m sprint in infants and 50m sprint in elementary school children), broad jump, and ball throw (tennis ball throw in infants and softball throw in elementary school children). The results showed that to age 6 or 7, about 70 % of children have the formation of longitudinal arch (normal-arch feet). Boys with flat feet exhibited lower motor ability than their counterparts with normal-arch feet. Although no definite correlations between flat feet and throwing ability have been identified from our data in girls, the sprint and jump abilities of girls with normal-arch feet were significantly greater than girls with flat feet.