Comparison between changes in the center of pressure among the elite male karatekas with or without genu varum during forward and backward walking tasks

Since impairment in body alignment affects dynamic stability during sport movements and skills, the purpose of the present study was to compare center of pressure changes to center of mass during forward and backward walking among elite male karatekas with Genu varum and normal angle.
Twenty elite male karatekas (two groups of Genu varum and normal) participated in the current semi-experimental study. Center of pressure changes to center of mass was calculated using force plate data during forward and backward walking.
The results showed that center of pressure changes to center of mass was significantly different in medial-lateral direction in non-dominant limb between forward and backward walking (p=0.005), while it was not foud to be significantly different in anterior-posterior direction. Also, the difference between Genu varum group and normal group was significant in the center of pressure changes to center of mass in anterior-posterior direction in both limbs during forward walking (p=0.010), but no significant difference was observed in medial-lateral direction. Moreover, no significant difference could be observed between dominant and non-dominant limbs in the center of pressure changes to center of mass in none of the directions.
According to the results of the present study, the pattern of the center of pressure changes to center of mass during forward walking was different from that of backward walking. However, in both directions, gait stability in Genu varum participants was observed to be less than that of the normal karatekas.