Use of the electronic baropodometer (EBP) to study dysmetria of the lower limbs: A case report

Abstract

An electronic baropodometer was used to study a case of lower limb dysmetria caused by an accident with delayed functional recovery of gait. A static baropodometric test of the patient without shoes and without orthesis revealed plantar imprints with loads within the norm; a static test with shoes but without orthesis showed that the operated right foot carried 42% of the body weight and the pressure peak M was on the second left metatarsal head, while the pressure centres of the individual plantar ("articular") imprints were not equidistant from the ground projection of the body's centre of gravity. In a static baropodometric test with shoes and with external orthesis, the loads were uniformly distributed on the plantar imprints and the articular pressure centres were equidistant from the ground projection of the body's centre of gravity. In the dynamic baropodometric test, the use of orthesis almost completely eliminated the limp characterising the patient's gait and improved all the parameters measured. This study confirms the value of EBP in the diagnostic evaluation and follow-up of patients with dysmetria of the lower limbs.