ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Taking a mold of the foot is an important advance for podiatric medicine and an indispensable procedure for the individualization of orthopedic treatments. We sought to determine which method of measuring molds (plaster cast in weightbearing and nonweightbearing and phenolic foam in weightbearing) reproduces with more reliability the expansion of the foot in weightbearing by comparing the widths of the forefoot and hindfoot in the different methods and in barefoot weightbearing. METHODS: In 54 patients, we studied the differences in width between the forefoot and hindfoot in barefoot weightbearing compared with in the different mold obtainment techniques. A descriptive, observational, and transversal study was performed in which foot molds were obtained with the different techniques, without corrective maneuvers, followed by scanning of each as well as barefoot weightbearing. RESULTS: Significant differences among the techniques were shown, with phenolic foam being more similar to barefoot weightbearing in forefoot and hindfoot width. CONCLUSIONS: The method that reproduces the expansion of the foot in weightbearing with more reliability is phenolic foam. The forefoot width is superior in barefoot weightbearing versus the three foot casts studied. The hindfoot width is superior in the foot cast with plaster in weightbearing compared with barefoot weightbearing and the other two foot casts.
