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The aim of this study was to evaluate whether there was a difference in the length and width between a standing static bare footprint and a bare footprint measured after jumping from a fixed height. This was undertaken using samples from 23 podiatry students. Initially, a static print was taken for each participant for both left and right feet. A jumping print was created for both left and right feet after each participant had jumped from a measured height of 48 cm. On both occasions, the participant stood on an inkless mat and then jumped onto reactive paper, creating a two-dimensional print. Gunn’s method was used to analyze each footprint, and the print was measured to see whether a difference existed between length and width of the two prints. For the left foot and the right foot, the results indicated there was a significant increase in length and width between a standing bare footprint and a footprint taken after jumping. There was a more significant increase in length of the left footprint than the right but more of a significant increase in the width of the right footprint than the left. The conclusion from this research was that there was a statistically significant difference in length and width between a static bare footprint and a footprint taken after jumping from a fixed height.

The aim of this study was to evaluate how useful thematic analysis is in the elicitation of observations of gait from a video recording. This was undertaken by providing a video recording of human gait to “novice” and “expert” podiatry students. The observations were explored using the qualitative tool of thematic analysis. The exploration of human gait using this technique gave a rich abundance of information and demonstrated that a basic level of experience or knowledge is required to provide a simple description of human gait. With more expertise came a richer description of observation of human gait by the “expert” group compared to basic observations by the “novice” group. Thematic analysis allows the use of language and the depth of the information to be evaluated when observing human gait from a video recording.

The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in angle and base of gait when a person carries weight. This was undertaken using a sample of 15 participants. Wearing their own footwear, participants walked across a surface dusted with talcum powder and onto a long length of black paper to record their angle and base of gait. Participants did this several times, carrying a variety of weights up to 15 kg. The results indicated that when participants carried a 15 kg weight to the front of their body, the base of gait increased, and the left (nondominant) foot abducted more than the right. When they carried a 15 kg weight to the left side of the body, the base of gait decreased, and the left (nondominant) foot abducted excessively and the right foot marginally.