Abstract:Objective To explore the characteristics of plantar pressure of ankle joints at different limb laterality and different stress positions. Methods Twenty-three healthy subjects were recruited to perform walking trails. Each subject was tested for plantar pressure in ankle neutral position, ankle inversion and ankle eversion through simple custom-designed walkways and plantar pressure plate. The evaluation indices were peak pressure, contact area, contact time percentage, M/L (ratio of sum of medial plantar peak pressure to sum of lateral peak pressure), A/P (ratio of sum of toe peak pressure to heel peak pressure). Results The peak pressure of the first metatarsus bone in the dominant foot was significantly larger than that in the non-dominant foot, and the peak pressure of the fifth metatarsus bone was significantly smaller than that on the non-dominant foot. The M/L of dominant side was significantly larger than that of the non-dominant side. Except for the peak pressures of the mid-foot and the first toe, there were significant differences in other regions among the three ankle positions. The percentage of contact time in each area during inversion was greater than that in neutral position, and the percentage of contact time of plantar regions during eversion was longer than that in neutral position except the second toe. The M/L in inversion, neutral and eversion position were 1.24±0.46, 1.06±0.26, 0.88±0.25. The M/L of dominant foot was greater than that of the non-dominant foot, and the A/P during inversion and eversion was greater than that in neutral positions. Conclusions The stability of the dominant foot was better than that of the non-dominant foot. The standing stability decreased during inversion and eversion. During inversion, the body shifted inward and forward to maintain the stability. During eversion, the center of gravity shifted outward and forward to maintain the stability.