Core muscles' endurance in flexible flatfeet: A cross - sectional study.

OBJECTIVE: Flexible flatfoot is a common deformity in adults that has been thought to be a causative factor of a lot of lower limb injuries and back pain. Core muscles act as stabilizers for the trunk and weak core places a person at greater risk of low back pain and lower limb injuries. We aimed to compare the core muscles' endurance between individuals with and without flatfeet. METHODS: Thirty subjects with bilateral flexible flatfeet (study group) were compared with thirty healthy subjects (control group). Navicular drop test was used to evaluate the medial longitudinal arch. Modified back extensors, modified flexion and lateral muscles' endurance tests were used to evaluate the endurance of the core muscles. RESULTS: The lateral muscles' endurance time in the flatfeet group was found to be significantly lower than that of the healthy group on both sides (p=0.0001). However, no significant difference was found in the trunk flexors' (p=0.15) and trunk extensors' (p=0.27) endurance time between both groups. CONCLUSIONS: Impairment of the lateral core muscles' endurance was observed in subjects with bilateral flexible flatfeet which may predispose to low back pain and other lower limb injuries in those subjects.

The Relationship Between Forward Head Posture and Neck Pain: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Forward head posture (FHP) is the most common cervical postural fault in the sagittal plane that is found with different severity levels in almost all populations. Despite claims that FHP may be related to neck pain, this relation seems to be controversial. Thus, our purpose is to determine whether FHP differs between asymptomatic subjects and those with neck pain and to investigate if there is a relationship between head posture and neck pain. RECENT FINDINGS: A total of 15 cross-sectional studies were eligible for inclusion for this systematic review and meta-analysis. Ten studies compared FHP between a group of asymptomatic participants and a group of participants with neck pain and an overall mean difference (MD) of 4.84 (95% CI = 0.14, 9.54), indicating a significant between-group difference, contrary to adolescent (MD = - 1.05; 95% CI = - 4.23, 2.12). Eight studies showed significant negative correlations between FHP and neck pain intensity (r = - 0.55; 95% CI = - 0.69, - 0.36) as well as disability (r = - 0.42; 95% CI = - 0.54, - 0.28) in adults and older adults, while in adolescents, only lifetime prevalence and doctor visits due to neck pain were significant predictors for FHP. This systematic review found that age played an important role as a confounding factor in the relation between FHP and neck pain. Also, the results showed that adults with neck pain show increased FHP when compared to asymptomatic adults and that FHP is significantly correlated with neck pain measures in adults and older adults. No association was found between FHP and most of neck pain measures in adolescents.