The postural status of sport shooters foot arch in correlation with their competitive discipline and gender

Abstract

The objective of this study was to assess variations in the arch status of the foot among 99 participants in the senior championship of Serbia in sports shooting, held in Niš in 2021, with a focus on their respective disciplines and gender. The Pedic podoscope instrument from Hungary, along with relevant software, was utilized to determine the postural status of the foot arch. Results revealed that among the 99 subjects, 40 (40.4%) exhibited a normal foot arch, 53 (53.5%) had flat feet, and six (6.1%) had hollow feet. In the air pistol discipline, 36% of the 25 male participants had a normal foot arch, while 64% had flat feet. Among the 16 female participants in the same discipline, 43.8% had a normal foot arch, and 53.3% had flat feet. In the rifle discipline, 34.6% of the 26 male participants had a normal foot arch, 50% had flat feet, and 15.4% had hollow feet. For female participants in the rifle discipline, 46.9% had a normal foot arch, 46.9% had flat feet, and 6.3% had a hollow foot. Statistical analysis indicated no significant gender differences in the air pistol (p=.620) and air rifle disciplines (p=.426). Additionally, there was no statistically significant difference in postural deviations of the foot arch among subjects practicing air pistol and rifle disciplines of both genders (p=.082). The findings underscore the importance of addressing foot arch posture concerns among sport shooters of diverse genders and disciplines through preventive and corrective measures.