Background & aim: Pregnant women suffer various musculo-skeletal pain during pregnancy. The plantar surface of the feet may reflect normal and abnormal pressures apply from upper body to the ground or vice-versa. This might help prescribing shoe inserts to the pregnant women to modify abnormal changes on her feet. A review of the literature shows controversial issues remained in this area. The current study aimed to evaluate foot pressure patterns during first pregnancy.
Methods: The current observational longitudinal study recruited 30 primigravid women and 18 age-sex matched non-pregnant women as the control group. The pregnant women were studied three times at the 10th, 21st, and 32nd weeks of pregnancy; and the control group women were studied twice at the 10th and 32nd weeks of pregnancy. A Zebris pedobarograph tool (Zebris Company, Germany) was used and the pressures beneath the feet of all subjects were studied during bilateral standing position.
Results: The results showed a significant increased pressures and forces at the hind foot and decreased forefoot at all three trimesters when compared to the control group. In comparison between the right and left foot, the pressure and force were more at the right side than the left one, which, it be due to their right dominant leg.
Conclusion: Marked foot pressure changes occur during pregnancy and increased as the pregnancy period advances. The increased hindfoot pressure and force occurred in this study is highly likely to return the balance to the pregnant women during pregnancy.
