ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: The Maasai are the most widely known African ethnic group located in Kenya and northern Tanzania. Most spend their days either barefoot or in their traditional shoes made of car tires. Although they walk long distances of up to sixty kilometers a day, they do not suffer from any foot ailments. Little is known about their foot structure and gait. The goal of this investigation was to characterize various aspects of Maasai foot in standing and walking. METHODS: Foot length, calf circumference, hindfoot alignment, step length, cadence, and walking velocity were obtained from 1,096 adult Maasai people (545 males and 551 females; mean age, 40.28 ± 14.69 years; age range, 16 to 65 years). All included subjects were from rural areas, where the primary terrain was sandy soil, who spend most of their lifetime barefoot, walking. They all denied any medical history or previous symptoms related to foot problems. A trained clinician scanned all feet for deformities. Static (standing) and dynamic (walking) Harris mat footprints were taken to determine the distribution of forefoot pressure patterns during walking. RESULTS: The average foot length was 250.14 ± 18.12 mm (range, 210 to 295 mm) and calf circumference was 32.50 ± 3.22 cm (range, 25 to 41 cm). The mean hindfoot alignment was 6.21° ± 1.55° of valgus. Sixty-four subjects (5.84%) had bilateral flat-shaped feet with a low medial longitudinal arch that exactly matched the broad pattern of their static footprints. Step length, cadence, and walking velocity were 426.45 ± 88.73 cm (range, 200 to 690 cm), 94.35 steps/min (range, 72 to 111 steps/min), and 40.16 ± 8.36 m/min (range, 18.20 to 63.36 m/min), respectively. A total of 83.39% subjects showed unilateral or bilateral deformities of multiple toes regardless of age. The most frequent deformity was clawing (98.79%) of which the highest incidence occurred with the fifth toe (93.23%). Dynamic footprints showed even pressure patterns throughout the forefoot (64.87%), followed by lateral forefoot pressure concentration patterns (21.81%). CONCLUSIONS: Our study shows the distinct parameters that provide more insight into the Maasai foot.
Subject(s)
Foot Deformities, Acquired/epidemiology , Foot/anatomy & histology , Foot/physiology , Gait/physiology , Walking/physiology , Adolescent , Adult , Aged , Biomechanical Phenomena , Ethnicity , Female , Foot Deformities, Acquired/ethnology , Humans , Kenya , Male , Middle Aged , Rural Population , Tanzania , Young AdultSubject(s)
Child Abuse/history , Human Rights Abuses/history , Child , Child Abuse/ethnology , Child, Preschool , Circumcision, Male/ethnology , Circumcision, Male/history , Female , Foot Deformities, Acquired/ethnology , Foot Deformities, Acquired/history , History, 15th Century , History, 16th Century , History, 17th Century , History, 18th Century , History, 20th Century , History, 21st Century , History, Ancient , History, Medieval , Human Rights Abuses/ethnology , Humans , Internationality/history , MaleABSTRACT
Chinese foot binding embraced several modern principles of brace treatment. It was initiated in childhood while the foot was cartilaginous and moldable. Culturally, the practice attempted to shape the foot into a pointed lotus flower. The resultant cavus foot deformity was dysfunctional and crippling. This curious custom, outlawed by the Communist party, is ironically analogous in some ways to high-heel shoe wear.
Subject(s)
Beauty , Foot Deformities, Acquired/diagnostic imaging , Foot Deformities, Acquired/ethnology , Child, Preschool , China , Cultural Characteristics , Female , Humans , Radiography , Sex , Social ClassABSTRACT
The authors present a radiographic case report of foot binding in a probable Chinese female. The radiographs, taken in 1948, are from an archival collection and represent severe, prolonged deformities of the left foot. Information supplied by a visiting anthropologist from Shanghai, China, adds to a knowledge and understanding of the custom of Chinese foot binding in both the past and the present.
