Foot and gait assessment: the role of physiotherapy in injury prevention

Abstract

The human foot is a complex and highly adaptable anatomical structure, composed of bones, joints, ligaments, and muscles, essential for absorbing impacts and adapting to different surfaces during gait. Among its main structures is the medial longitudinal arch, frequently used in the classification of foot types. The gait can be divided into three types: pronated, normal, and supinated. The objective of this study is to analyze the contribution of physiotherapy, highlighting the importance of assessment for the prevention of dysfunctions and the correction of biomechanical alterations related to the foot and gait. This is an integrative literature review. The search for the results took place in October 2025, in the PhysiotherapyEvidenceDatabase (PEDro) and Virtual Health Library (BVS) databases. The following descriptors were used: "Foot x dysfunction", "Physiotherapy x Foot", "Assess x Gait" and their respective standardized translations in the Health Sciences Descriptors (DeCS). These were combined using the Boolean operator AND in the queries. The inclusion criteria for this study were defined as follows: Articles published in Portuguese; between 2015 and 2025; and addressing the topic of foot and gait. The literature demonstrates that functional alterations of the foot can compromise the biomechanics of the entire lower extremity, reinforcing the importance of physiotherapy assessment. In this context, resources such as baropodometry help in identifying pressure peaks and guide interventions such as the use of orthoses. This literature review showed that physiotherapy assessment of the foot and gait is an essential tool for clinical practice, providing a preventive and integrative view of human movement, consolidating physiotherapy as a protagonist in the prevention of dysfunctions and in maintaining the biomechanical integrity of the musculoskeletal system.