RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Static footprints have been widely used clinically. However, since this measure provides only indirect information about the medial longitudinal arch height, it is not clear if it can be indicative of dynamic foot function especially in obese children. This study aimed to verify whether static footprints can predict dynamic plantar pressures in obese children. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Twenty children aged 9 to 11 years, divided into obese and non obese, voluntarily participated in this study. Static footprints and dynamic plantar pressures were analyzed by using a pedograph and the Pedar system (Novel GMbH, Munich, GER), respectively. RESULTS: In general, correlations between static and dynamic measures were observed to be significant for the non obese children, while no significant correlations were found for the obese ones. CONCLUSION: Since obesity may affect the relationship between static and dynamic measures, footprints should be used with caution when inferring the characteristics of obese children's feet under dynamic conditions. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Footprints and pedobarography should not be used at this time for clinical decision making regarding the feet of obese children.
Assuntos
Dermatoglifia , Pé , Obesidade , Pressão , Índice de Massa Corporal , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Criança , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Obesidade/fisiopatologia , Reprodutibilidade dos Testes , Caminhada/fisiologia , Suporte de CargaRESUMO
Cardiac excitability is determined by the direction of the electric field, which is defined by the positioning of electrodes. However, important morphological and physiological modifications that happen during the postnatal development of the heart may affect the cardiac threshold. In this work we have evaluated the effect of electrode positioning on the excitability threshold of isolated Wistar rat atria (left auricles) during postnatal development. This was performed by determining the parameters of strength-duration curves for stimuli (rheobase, chronaxie and normalized minimum pulse energy) of atria from rats at ages (days) 5, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120. These parameters were determined using electric field stimulation in four different orientations (apex-base, base-apex, left-right and right-left). Atrial rheobase decreased by 1.5- to 4-fold with animal age and was altered by electric field orientation in a diversified way, whereas atrial chronaxie increased only with animal age. The minimum pulse energy decreased two- to nine-fold with ageing. This was mainly due to rheobase dependence with electric field direction. We showed that the appropriate cardiac stimulation depends on the effects of three combined factors (pulse parameters, electrode position and animal age) on the atrial tissue excitability.