INTRODUCTION

In our study, we want to examine the effects that pronation has on frontal plane motion of the lower extremity during gait. Pronation is a subtle, easily overlooked irregularity of the foot, which is usually associated with fallen arches. Fallen arches are measured by the navicular drop, which is a test that determines how far the navicular tuberosity moves as a result of weight being placed on the foot (Mueller et al., 1993). Due to the subtlety of pronation, the condition can be ignored for some time, leading to chronic overuse injuries of the ankle (Engsberg 1996), shins and knee. Some specific injuries include shin splints, stress fractures, and pain in the patellar-femoral joint (Klingman et al., 1997).

Our purpose is to observe any noticeable changes in several joint locations by comparing an individual who pronates to one who does not. We intend to answer this question by videotaping both individuals from the posterior view while walking on a treadmill. Digitizing each video segment will enable us to investigate the effects of pronation on the joint locations in the lower extremity during the gait cycle.