Abstract
1. It has been shown in fifty normal feet that the perpendicular static plantar pressures rise by about 35 per cent between the ages of five years and maturity.
2. It is very likely that similar increases in plantar pressures occur between two and five years of age.
3. The plantar pressures in seventy-eight feet of children with spina bifida were with a few exceptions substantially higher than those of normal children of the same age. It is likely that this is so, at least in part, because the feet of children with spina bifida are smaller than normal.
4. This increase in perpendicular static pressure during growth must be relevant in the production of trophic foot ulceration.
5. The existence and importance of "flail deformity" as a factor producing areas of increased pressure and ulceration in anaesthetic feet is postulated.
