Pes planus is a common foot deformity characterized by loss of the medial longitudinal arch of the foot during standing. Pes planus has been associated with increased BMI in children, but it is less consistently demonstrated in older adults. Jiang et al. developed a novel tool to diagnose pes planus by measuring the plantar fascia angle (PFA) via ultrasound. This study uses this non-invasive technique to establish a correlation between PFA and percent body fat (%BF) in adult cadaveric subjects. We hypothesize that adult cadavers with increased adiposity will have a higher prevalence of pes planus. Adiposity was characterized by WHtR and B-mode ultrasound measurements of subcutaneous adipose tissue at four landmarks–the tricep, abdomen, thigh, and tibialis anterior. The averages were applied to a regression equation that converts adiposity into %BF. The plantar fascia was imaged with B-mode ultrasound, and angles were measured with RadiANT DICOM software. Simple linear regression analysis of WHtR and PFA demonstrated a modest linear association (R² = 0.2848). A similar association was found between %BF and PFA (R² = 0.2204). The association between %BF and PFA was moderate in males (R² = 0.2849) and females (R² = 0.2717). These findings suggest that adiposity may contribute to structural changes associated with pes planus in adults. This study provides the first cadaveric evidence linking increased fat mass to an anatomic marker of pes planus. Identifying adiposity as a potential risk factor may improve understanding of pes planus etiology and inform future preventative and diagnostic strategies.
