Fatigue in Children with Pronated Feet After Aerobic Exercises.

Background: Sports have a strong influence on current society. Foot posture has been postulated to be a risk factor for overuse injuries; however, the link between foot posture and injuries is unclear. This study aimed to determine whether children with pronated feet become more fatigued after participating in sports tests than those with normal feet.

Methods: One hundred five children aged 10 to 12 years (mean ± SD age, 10.46 ± 0.78 years) participated in the sports tests, which were aerobic-type resistance exercises with six stations at which each child remained for 30 sec. The posture of the foot was evaluated via the Foot Posture Index and the plantar footprint via the arch index and the Clarke angle before and after aerobic-type resistance exercises. Perceived tiredness was evaluated with the Pictorial Children's Effort Rating Table (PCERT) and whether there was pain during or after physical activity.

Results: The variables used to measure foot posture and the plantar arch changed more in the pronated feet, suggesting that the feet undergo more pronation after physical exercise. The neutral feet obtained a mean ± SD PCERT score of 5.46 ± 1.89 and the pronated feet a score of 7.60 ± 1.92.

Conclusions: Children with pronated feet showed more fatigue and foot pain during and/or after physical exercise than those with neutral feet. Foot type could be responsible for the lack of enthusiasm of children toward undertaking healthy activities, and this problem might be solved via appropriate orthopedic treatment.