A Study of the Impact of Head Position on Foot Pressure in Stance

January 16, 2026 updated by: University Hospital, Strasbourg, France

A Study of the Impact of Head Position on Foot Pressure in Stance.

When examining a subject in quiet stance from the side, the leg segment is usually seen to be oriented upwards and forwards by about 5°; the knee may be flexed by a few degrees, the shoulders are behind the great trochanter and the head is held forwards. The forward head position moves the center of gravity forwards and thus may increase pressure under the forefoot. Conversely, moving the head backwards should be accompanied by an increase in pressure under the heel and thus decreased pressure under the forefoot.

The study's objective is to study the influence of alignment of the head with the back (i.e. a rearward head position) and head rotation on the foot pressure distribution (measured using a foot pressure platform).

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

87

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 30 years (Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age between 18 and 30
  • Social security coverage
  • Ability to understand the study's objectives, procedures and risks and to provide informed, written consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Past or concomitant infectious or cancerous diseases of the spine
  • Vertebral osteosynthesis
  • Acute neck or arm pain
  • Limb trauma in the previous 12 months
  • Acute leg pain
  • Neuropathic disease or the sequelae of neuropathic disease of the legs
  • Myasthenia gravis
  • Central nervous system disorders
  • Inner ear problems
  • Subjects under legal guardianship
  • Known pregnancy
  • Simultaneous participation in another biomedical research study of a drug or medical device.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Other: Foot pressure measurement

The subject stands on the platform, with the heels and buttocks touching a vertical plane and the head held freely. The subject then moves his/her head backwards so that it touches the vertical plane. Next, he/she turns the head to the right and then towards the left. Each of these positions is maintained for 2 minutes.

The platform's sensors measure the anteroposterior foot pressure distribution during the various acquisitions.
Other: Foot pressure measurement

Description of the foot pressure measurement:

The subject stands on the platform, with the heels and buttocks touching a vertical plane and the head held freely. The subject then moves his/her head backwards so that it touches the vertical plane. Next, he/she turns the head to the right and then towards the left. Each of these positions is maintained for 2 minutes.

The platform's sensors measure the anteroposterior foot pressure distribution during the various acquisitions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
The foot pressure in g/cm2 and the anteroposterior pressure distribution, measured using a foot pressure platform.
Time Frame: 1 hour
1 hour

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University Hospital, Strasbourg, France

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Mutter Catherine, MD, Les Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2015

Primary Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2015

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 15, 2014

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 18, 2014

First Posted (Estimated)

December 19, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

January 20, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 16, 2026

Last Verified

January 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 5899

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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