To examine stance during the measurement of balance ability, this study aimed to clarify the differences and relationships between balance ability in one-legged (dominant or nondominant leg) and two-legged stances in 25 typical male adults and 25 male soccer players. Balance ability was evaluated with four sway factors: sway velocity, anterior-posterior sway, lateral sway, and high-frequency sway factors. The one-legged stance was more unstable than the two-legged stance, the balance abilities related to two-legged and one-legged stances differed, and the balance abilities related to dominant-legged and nondominant-legged stances were similar. The one-legged stance, which was difficult to maintain stably, may be useful in the measurement of static balance ability in young people.
A decrease of knee extension strength and visual acuity and knee joint pain are factors affecting gait in the female older adults. Decreased knee extension strength and knee joint pain mainly affect respective distance and time parameters of the gait.
BackgroundThis study compared the effects of barefoot policy, a policy instructing preschool children to go without shoes, on untouched-toes, which do not touch the ground while standing normally, of preschool children attending kindergartens that follow this rule, to preschooler in kindergartens where they must wear shoes, i.e., no-barefoot policy.MethodsThe study used longitudinal data from measurements taken 2 years apart of the amount of times. The subjects were 59 children (34 boys and 25 girls) who went to a kindergarten that followed barefoot policy and 179 children (103 boys and 76 girls) who went to a kindergarten that did not follow barefoot policy. Images were taken of the contact surface area of the soles of the children’s feet by having them stand on the measurement device with their bare feet.ResultsThe number of untouched-toes in children participating in the study was determined from the pictures. In boys who attended kindergartens following barefoot policy, the ratio of the children without untouched-toes significantly increased for 2 years of childhood (35.3–64.7 %). The number of untouched-toes were significantly fewer in boys from kindergartens following barefoot policy than in boys from kindergartens not following the policy, and the magnitude of the difference grew for the two study years (ES: 0.41–0.63). In girls, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the ratio of girls without untouched-toes and the number of untouched-toes.ConclusionsIn conclusion, the ground contact of the toes becomes better for boys in kindergarten with a barefoot policy. The results were inconclusive with regard to girls, and other factors may need to be examined. In the future, it will be necessary to increase the number of the subjects and perform detailed examinations.
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