Prevalence of pes planus and pes cavus and its association with risk of fall, activities of daily living and muscular discomfort among school teachers of Hayatabad, Peshawar. A cross sectional study.

Abstract

Objective: To determine the prevalence of pes planus and pes cavus and its association with risk of fall, activities of daily living and muscular discomfort. Study Design: Multi-center Cross-sectional study. Setting: Hayatabad Public and Private Schools. Period: August 2024 to January 2025. Methods: This was multi-center cross-sectional study; conducted on school teachers of Hayatabad, Peshawar. Total 113 school teachers (mean age 29.42± 6.07) were included in the study through convenience sampling technique. Demographic details were obtained from all the study participants. Navicular drop test was used to assess arch of the foot. Risk of fall and activities of daily living were assessed using Efficacy Scale International and Foot and Ankle Ability Measure respectively. Cornell Musculoskeletal Discomfort Questionnaire is used for muscular discomfort. Data was analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 25. Results: The sample in this study consisted of 47.8% male and 52.2% female school teachers. The results of this study showed that pes planus is slightly more prevalent (19.16%) than pes cavus (16.93%). The baseline variables like gender, age and Body Mass Index (BMI) and functional outcomes like risk of fall and activities of daily living were strongly associated with type of foot (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study found that foot arch deviations, such as pes planus and pes cavus, are highly prevalent and show strong associations with age, gender, and BMI. These deviations also have a significant impact on functional outcomes.