Criteria for gender-specific soccer shoe development

Abstract

To date, there is a lack of research on gender-specific soccer footwear, even though there are biological differences as well as differences in playing behaviour among female and male players. This paper discusses criteria that are important for the development of women-specific soccer shoes. Females are different in size and body composition and due to a lower muscular strength, movements are less powerful. Biomechanical and neuromuscular differences are the cause of different movement patterns and in comparison to men women bear a higher risk of non-contact injuries. Traction properties of the shoe should be studied to understand the gender related influence of footwear on high risk movements like cutting or landing, which often cause knee injuries. Questionnaires showed that comfort is the most important shoe feature that soccer players expect from their shoes, but comfort is even more important for the female players. Therefore, it is necessary that shoe last design and upper construction are based on gender-specific foot morphology. In general, female feet are smaller and even if feet have the same length as males, female feet tend to be narrower. A lot of female players are not satisfied with their shoes and would like to have a narrower fit and a (slightly) more flexible outsole. However they do not want shorter studs, although cleat design is likely to influence injury risk. In conclusion: Female players need their own shoe design that decreases injury risks without sacrificing performance.

Gender and Leg-dominance Differences in Shoe Properties and Foot Injuries in Badminton

“…Our results showed that the t and comfort of badminton shoes were recognized as the most important shoe feature in both males and females. This is similar to previous research on running, soccer, gym, basketball and tennis footwear, which also indicate t and comfort as the most important shoe features [1,[11][12][13][14]. Moreover, it has been shown that footwear comfort has signi cant in uences on lower limb injuries and performances.…”

“…Footwear structural features have the potential to affect comfort and athletic performances [10]. Sport shoe characteristics for running, gym, football, basketball, and tennis have been previously studied using questionnaires [1,[11][12][13][14], but information for badminton has not been established. Movement mechanics and loading characteristics in badminton are clearly different from running and other court sports, resulting in distinct requirements of footwear.…”

“…Several papers show that female feet were not just a scaled down version of male feet [18, 19] female feet were characterized by a higher arch, shallower rst toe, shorter length of the outside ball and smaller instep circumference. Other etiological factors, including hip Q-angle, foot shape, body mass, muscle strength, and joint laxity, are different between genders [13], which results in distinct biomechanical alternations and thereby footwear requirements between male and females [11], when selecting badminton shoes.…”

Gender and leg‐dominance differences in shoe properties and foot injuries in badminton: a cross‐sectional survey

“…Our results showed that the fit and comfort of badminton shoes were recognized as the most important shoe feature in both males and females. This is similar to previous research on running, soccer, gym, basketball and tennis footwear, which also reported fit and comfort as the most important shoe features [1, 11–14]. Moreover, another research studying shoe comfort during standing tasks, preferred footwear conditions were shown to result in the lowest levels of lower extremity and back pain.…”

“…Several investigations show that female feet were not just a scaled down version of male feet [ 18 , 19 ] and female feet were characterized by a higher arch, shallower first toe, shorter length of the outside ball and smaller instep circumference. Other etiological factors including hip Q-angle, foot shape, body mass, muscle strength are different between genders [ 13 ], which results in distinct biomechanical alternations and thereby different footwear requirements between males and females [ 11 ]. Therefore, it can be assumed that badminton shoes need to be optimized with reference to these characteristics between genders in badminton.…”