Plantar pressure measuring is a method which is being more and more used in clinical assessments. It is helpful to evaluate for such things as how much strain there is underneath the foot, that may be vital to figure out in those with diabetes mellitus that are susceptible to a foot wound. Plantar pressures may also be employed to help determine how people walk and how strain alters during the gait cycle. This could be useful information that will help podiatrists order and design foot supports. This is such an important problem that an episode of the livestream, PodChatLive ended up being about this. PodChatlive is a Facebook livestream which has 2 hosts along with a different invitee on every show where they explore themes of importance to podiatry and related issues. It is also published to YouTube and as an audio podcast.
In that show, they talked plantar pressures and pressure mapping together with Dr Bruce Williams DPM from Indiana, USA. Bruce is a Fellow and former President of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine and owner of Breakthrough Podiatry in NorthWest Indiana and has substantial knowledge on plantar pressure measurements, pressure mapping and their interpretation and clinical use. He utilises both the in-shoe method and pressure mat devices in his clinic and has been doing so for almost two decades now. He is well published on this subject in peer reviewed scholastic publications, so is well placed to discuss this issue. In the episode of PodChatLive they discussed exactly what the centre of pressure is and the way you can use it clinically to learn what is occurring. Additionally they discussed just how pressure information has a bearing on his clinical decision making, mainly foot orthotic recommending. They discussed the advantages and disadvantages of in-shoe versus the mat technology and try to present some guidance to those who might be contemplating adding this type of service to their clinics.