Introduction: Bed rest means a prolonged period of laying down, with the intent of improving or preventing the deterioration of a medical condition from a chronic or acute injury or illness. Studies show that inactivity has adverse effects on the body and early care along with exercise may prevent many complications stemming from inactivity and age. Purpose: With this research we wanted to find out the effect bed rest has on healthy individuals through a 35 day regime and the consequences that it has on the musculoskeletal system. More accurately, we looked at the pressure distribution on the soles of the feet during gait and gait parameters. Methods: Ten healthy individuals were included in the research. The protocol lasted 35 days in which the participants were prohibited from performing any physical activity. The measurements were repeated four times for every individual, the first time on the beginning day of the regime, the second time on the last day of bed rest, the third time two days after the regime ended and the last time approximately a month after the end of the regime. Results: Even though we observed several changes in different parameters during and after the protocol, in only one case we could notice a statistically significant change (p<0,05). That happened with the sole surface of the front side of the left foot. Parameters which increased during the research: maximum and average pressure of the foot, load share of the back side of the foot. Parameters which decreased during the research: sole surface of the entire foot, sole surface of the front and back side of the foot and the load share of the front side of the foot. Discussion and conclusion: Our findings are mostly the same as already published literature regarding plantar pressures (and subsequently the surface area and load distribution). The difference between published literature and ours is in the parameters of gait. Here, a lack of change throughout was the biggest difference. With our findings we more accurately described the changes during gait, as a consequence of bed rest. Our work serves as a base for further research regarding this topic, with much room for improvements and additional research.
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