The Effect of Corrective Exercises on the Foot Posture and Balance in Female Karate Athletes With Flat Foot

Background and Aims Karate is one of the most popular martial arts worldwide, and flat foot deformity is one of the most common disorders in people participating in this sport. This disorder can negatively affect the static and dynamic balance in individuals. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the effect of corrective exercises on foot posture and balance in female karate athletes with flat foot.Methods This research was a quasi-experimental study performed in two phases: pre-test and post-test. Forty female karatekas with flexible flat foot postures entered the study as subjects. They were randomly divided into exercise group (Mean±SD age: Mean±SD 20.00±1.81 y, Mean±SD height: 161.4±6.49 cm, and Mean±SD weight: 55.27±6.56 kg) and control (Mean±SD age: 21.02±2.19 y, Mean±SD height cm: 160.4±4.23, and Mean±SD weight: 55.75±3.90 kg). As one of the inclusion criteria, a navicular drop test was performed for all subjects to assess the condition of the foot posture. Also, the balance error scoring system and Y balance tests were used for all subjects to check the static and dynamic balance. Then, the exercise group performed 6 weeks of corrective exercises, but the control group did not perform any specific exercises during this period. After 6 weeks, the tests were repeated. Statistical analysis was performed in SPSS software version 26. A covariance analysis test was used to evaluate the between-group differences, and paired sample t test was used to evaluate the within-group changes.Results This study’s findings showed that the corrective exercise group in thepost-test had a better performance than the pre-test in the navicular drop test, in all three directions of the Y balance test, and in the balance error scoring system (P=0.0001). But in the control group, no significant difference was observed between the two stages of the test (P>0.05). It was also observed in the comparison between groups that in thepost-test in the variables of the navicular drop test and also in all three directions of the Y balance test and the test of the scoring system, the balance error scoring system of the experimental group achieved better results than the control group (P>0.05). Conclusion This study showed that 6 weeks of corrective exercises has significantly improved foot posture and static and dynamic balance in karate women with flexible flat feet. According to the results obtained in this study, it seems that comprehensive corrective exercises can be used in this group to improve balance and posture.