Three-dimensional morphometric analysis of plegic foot and healthy foot in hemiplegic patients

Objective: Cerebrovascular disease is one of the diseases that cause serious handicaps. Hemiplegia is one of the most common findings. Hemiplegia causes spasticity and atrophy in the feet. Three-dimensional (3D) scanning methods are increasingly used in health studies. The objective of this study is to make morphometric measurements of plegic foot and healthy foot by three-dimensional scanning and to examine the differences quantitatively. Method: 20 patients with hemiplegia disease and 20 healthy subjects were included in the study. Hemiplegic patients were evaluated with scales such as Functional Independence Measures (FIM), Berg Balance Scale (BBS), Modified Ashworth Scale (MAS), Functional Ambulation Classification (FAC), 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT). After that, hemiplegic and healthy subjects were scanned with 3D scanner. Differences between feet were evaluated in computer environment. Results: Morphometric result of foot length, foot width, instep heigh, bimalleolar width, ball width, foot area and foot volume in plegic feet were found to be significantly decreased compared to healthy feet (p<0,05). Mean square root difference value (RMS), which is one of the parameters evaluated in our study, showing the asymmetry of the foot relative to each other; in our patient group, it was significantly higher than our healthy group (p<0,05). However, the RMS value was found to have o good correlation with Berg Balance Scale (BBS) and 6 Minute Walk Test (6MWT). Conclusion: We evaluated the change in plegic feet with three-dimensional analysis and quantitative data. We believe that these findings will be considered as clinical contributions to the design of orthotic supports and to determine rehabilitation programs. In addition, we believe that the RMS method used in our study may be used as a new method to evaluate the clinical picture of Cerebrovascular disease. Key words: Cerebrovascular disease, 3D scanning, hemiplegia