Zusammenfassung

Background. Mobile flat foot etiology and its correlations with postural imbalance remain topical issues for now, especially in children with generalized joint hypermobility. Additionally, it is poorly known that complaints prevail in children with mobile flat foot and joint hypermobility, and whether existing complaints are associated with foot deformation.Objective. The aim of the study is to estimate medium-term effects of body balance trainings on the height of longitudinal arch of the foot and on the complaints structure in primary school-aged children with generalized joint hypermobility.Methods. The study included 114 primary school-aged children (7–11 years old) with mobile symptomatic flat foot who were divided into four groups: I — control group of children who did not perform training; II — children who performed standard complex of rehabilitation exercises recommended for flat foot; III — children who performed a specially designed complex of exercises for body balance training; IV — children exercised on unstable platform. The foot examination included: clinical assessment of feet shape and position (FPI-6 scale), visual and manual mobility tests, computer scanning with calculation of anthropometric indices (basic anthropometric parameters were calculated from scanned foot images). Clinical evaluation of balance was carried out according to the BESS (Balance Error Scoring System) scale and computer pedobarometry. Assessment of complaints structure was carried out according to the Oxford Child Foot Condition Questionnaire.Results. Children of control group significantly increased the number of errors in performing tests compared to the baseline data (p = 0.034) according to the BESS scale. No statistically significant changes were obtained in children of the second group (p = 0.08). Total number of errors committed by children of third and fourth groups on unstable platform decreased by 2.9 times and 3.4 times, respectively (p = 0.022 and p = 0.044). Decrease in partial load on medial longitudinal ...