{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,21]],"date-time":"2026-03-21T04:10:11Z","timestamp":1774066211835,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"9","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,5]],"date-time":"2024-09-05T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1725494400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Bioengineering"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Although carrying external load has negative effects on gait biomechanics, little evidence has been provided regarding its impact on body asymmetry. The main purpose of the present study was to examine, whether standardized equipment produced greater gait asymmetries in ground reaction force and plantar pressure. Methods: For the purpose of this study, we recruited 845 police recruits (609 men and 236 women; 72.1% men and 27.9% women) measured in two conditions: (i) \u2018no load\u2019 and (ii) \u2018a 3.5 kg load\u2019. Absolute values in ground reaction forces and plantar pressures beneath the different foot regions were assessed with pedobarographic platform (Zebris FDM). Asymmetry was calculated as (xright \u2212 xleft)\/0.5 \u00d7 (xright + xleft) \u00d7 100%, where \u2018x\u2019 represented a given parameter being calculated and a value closer to 0 denoted greater symmetry. Results: Significant differences in ground reaction forces and plantar pressures between the left and right foot were observed, when adding \u2018a 3.5 kg load\u2019. Compared to the \u2018no load\u2019 condition, carrying \u2018a 3.5 kg load\u2019 significantly increased gait asymmetries for maximal ground reaction forces beneath the forefoot (ES = 0.29), midfoot (ES = 0.20) and hindfoot (ES = 0.19) regions of the foot. For maximal plantar pressures, only the asymmetry beneath the midfoot region of the foot significantly increased (ES = 0.19). Conclusions: Findings of this study indicate that \u2018a 3.5 kg load\u2019 significantly increases ground reaction force and plantar pressure gait asymmetries beneath the forefoot and midfoot regions, compared to \u2018no load\u2019 condition. Due to higher loads, increases in kinetic gait asymmetries may have negative effects on future pain and discomfort in the foot area, possibly causing stress fractures and deviated gait biomechanics in police recruits.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/bioengineering11090895","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,6]],"date-time":"2024-09-06T03:22:46Z","timestamp":1725592966000},"page":"895","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Carrying Police Load Increases Gait Asymmetry in Ground Reaction Forces and Plantar Pressures Beneath Different Foot Regions in a Large Sample of Police Recruits"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"11","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4660-6900","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mario","family":"Kasovi\u0107","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Applied Kinesiology, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"},{"name":"Department of Physical Activities and Health Sciences, Faculty of Sports Studies, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Andro","family":"\u0160tefan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of General and Applied Kinesiology, Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Zagreb, 10000 Zagreb, Croatia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7705-7801","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lovro","family":"\u0160tefan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Physical Activities and Health Sciences, Faculty of Sports Studies, Masaryk University, 625 00 Brno, Czech Republic"},{"name":"Department of Physical Education and Sport, Faculty of Education, Catholic University in Ru\u017eomberok, 034 01 Ru\u017eomberok, Slovakia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2024,9,5]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"77","DOI":"10.1016\/j.clinbiomech.2016.06.009","article-title":"Effects of thigh holster use on kinematics and kinetics of active duty police officers","volume":"37","author":"Larsen","year":"2016","journal-title":"Clin. 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