M.Tanveer Hossain Parash^1,, Humaira Naushaba², Md. Ashfaqur Rahman¹, Sadia Choudhury Shimmi³

Medial longitudinal arch is the most important arch of the foot from a clinical point of view. The height of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot is commonly thought to be a predisposing factor to injuries. High-arched runners exhibited more bony, ankle and lateral injuries but low-arched runners revealed a higher risk of soft tissue, knee and medial injuries. Again, both high and low-arched people had greater rearfoot eversion excursions than those with normal arch structure. This indicates the importance of measuring and determining the types of the foot arch in Bangldesh as there is no such data. The most reliable and valid way of measurement of the foot arch is the arch height index (AHI), which could be measured by the arch height index measurement system (AHIMS). The AHIMS can be costly to buy or construct for a third world country like Bangladesh. Researchers have recently developed an alternative to reduce the cost which involves the use of digital photography to assess the foot arch. The present study was done to measure and categorize the different types of the arch of foot of adult Bangladeshi males using digital photography and caliper. A total number of 110 male students of 3^rd and 4^th year of Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka were included in the study by convenient sampling after taking approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee. In both sitting and standing position 63% of the respondents had normal arch, 21% had high arch and the rest 16% had low arch. The podiatrists and the plastic surgeons of Bangladesh may use this data to screen, diagnose and manage the pathology accordingly.

arch of foot, digital photography, anthropometry