Review Article An insight into the plantar pressure distribution of the foot in clinical practice: Narrative review Harithasan Deepashini a , Baharudin Omar b , Aatit Paungmali c , Naicker Amaramalar d , Htwe Ohnmar d , Joseph Leonard a, * a Human Movements and Health Research Unit, Physiotherapy Programme, School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Science, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia b Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Diagnostic and Applied Health Sciences, Faculty of Health Science, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Malaysia c Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Associated Medical Sciences, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand d Department of Orthopaedics and Traumatology, Pusat Perubatan Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bandar Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia p o l i s h a n n a l s o f m e d i c i n e x x x ( 2 0 1 4 ) x x x – x x x a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 7 August 2013 Received in revised form 10 February 2014 Accepted 26 March 2014 Keywords: Foot Plantar pressure Measurement Biomechanics Analysis a b s t r a c t Introduction: In clinical practice and within the scope of research studies, foot pressure distribution as measured by plantar pressure analysis is widely used to diagnose foot pathologies. Although plantar pressure data have been recognized as an important element in the assessment of patients with various foot problems, an in-depth knowledge of the plantar pressure distribution of the foot is lacking in literatures. Aim: This article presents a review of literature on plantar pressure distribution and factors that may affect plantar pressure among patients with foot pathologies and healthy population. Material and methods: A literature search was conducted in Science Direct and PubMed databases for articles published from January 2000 to August 2012. Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) and other keywords for search were plantar pressure, age, body weight, gender, reliability, instrument and healthy subjects. Results and discussion: This paper reviews on the factors influencing plantar pressure distri- bution. Factors such as the gender, age, body weight, foot type and footwear proved to have a significant effect on plantar pressure distribution of the foot. The paper also reports on the plantar pressure distribution of the foot and the reliability of the measurement. Studies were excluded from this narrative review if they did not meet the above criteria. Conclusions: This review has added sufficient knowledge on plantar pressure distribution of the foot in clinical practice. Data obtained from a plantar pressure distribution can be used by the physical therapist in the evaluation and management of patients with a wide variety of foot and lower extremity disorders. # 2014 Warmińsko-Mazurska Izba Lekarska w Olsztynie. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved. * Correspondence to: Human Movements and Health Research Unit, Physiotherapy Programme, School of Rehabilitation Science, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Tel.: +60 19 6781935. E-mail addresses: leonardjoseph85@hotmail.com, leonardjoseph85@gmail.com (J. Leonard). POAMED-75; No. of Pages 6 Please cite this article in press as: Deepashini H, et al. An insight into the plantar pressure distribution of the foot in clinical practice: Narrative review. Pol Ann Med. (2014), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.poamed.2014.03.003 Available online at www.sciencedirect.com ScienceDirect journal homepage: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/poamed 1230-8013/$ – see front matter # 2014 Warmińsko-Mazurska Izba Lekarska w Olsztynie. Published by Elsevier Urban & Partner Sp. z o.o. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.poamed.2014.03.003