Reproducibility and agreement between different protocols of dynamic baropodometry during gait: a preliminary study

ABSTRACT The identification of plantar pressure during gait is used by clinicians and researchers to verify burden on the plantar structure. In this study, different protocols have been employed for this purpose. The aim of this study was to verify the reproducibility and agreement of shortened gait protocols to identify dynamic plantar pressure in asymptomatic young people. Fifteen volunteers were submitted to the shortened one-step and three-step protocols and to the standard midgait protocol in three moments: initial, after one day and after seven days. For each of the eight foot masks, the measurements of peak plantar pressure and pressure-time integral were considered. Reproducibility was analyzed by one-way Anova test and intraclass correlation coefficient, while the agreement between the protocols was verified through paired t-test, Pearson’s moment-product correlation and Bland-Altman plot. The results showed that the three-step protocol presented higher reproducibility in both measurements of dynamic plantar pressure. Regarding the agreement between protocols, although the shortened ones showed a tendency to underestimate the standard midgait measurements, most foot masks showed no statistical differences between mean scores. Furthermore, through the Bland-Altman technique, there was substantial agreement capacity between the one-step, three-step and midgait protocols measurements. In conclusion, the shortened protocols should be selected according to the measurement of interest of plantar pressure and foot masks to be analyzed. The evidence of reproducibility and agreement was more favorable for the use of the three-step protocol.