Effect of work boot type on work footwear habits, lower limb pain and perceptions of work boot fit and comfort in underground coal miners

Abstract

Lower limb injuries are highly prevalent in underground coal mining. Wearing gumboots with inadequate ankle support was thought to contribute to these injuries. Despite the uptake of leather lace-up boots, which provide more ankle support, no recent research could be found investigating the effect of this alternative work boot in underground coal mining. Consequently, this study aimed to determine whether boot type (gumboot, leather lace-up boot) influenced work footwear habits, foot problems, lower limb pain, lower back pain, or perceptions of work boot fit and comfort in underground coal miners. Chi-squared tests were applied to 358 surveys completed by underground coal miners to determine whether responses differed significantly (p < 0.05) according to boot-type. There were no significant between-boot differences in regards to the presence of foot problems, lower limb pain or lower back pain. However, the types of foot problems and locations of foot pain differed according to boot type. Gumboot wearers were also more likely to state that their work boot comfort was either 'uncomfortable' or 'indifferent', their work boot fit was 'poor' and their current boot did not provide enough support. The introduction of more structured leather lace-up boots appears to have positively influenced the support and fit provided by mining work boots, although foot problems, lower limb pain and lower back pain continue to be reported. Further investigation is recommended to identify which specific boot design features caused these observed differences in work boot fit, comfort and locations of foot pain and how these design features can be manipulated to create an underground coal mining work boot that is comfortable and reduces the high incidence of foot problems and lower limb pain suffered by underground coal miners.

The three-dimensional shapes of underground coal miners’ feet do not match the internal dimensions of their work boots

“…In the current study, the miners' feet were closer to the end of the gumboot, which has a wider forefoot design compared to the narrower leather lace-up boot. This result further supports the relationship between foot width and boot size selection, and is consistent with previous research where gumboot wearers were more likely to select a work boot that was smaller than their everyday shoe size compared to leather lace-up boot wearers who were more likely to select a work boot larger than their everyday shoe (Dobson et al, 2017).…”

“…Foot breadth, heel breadth, heel circumference, toe 5 angle, instep height and instep circumference are variables where the leather lace-up boot was narrower than the gumboot across all boot sizes (see Figure 6). Corns, bunions and foot problems that result from increased pressure on the foot are more common in wearers of the narrower leather lace-up boot compared to gumboot wearers (Dobson et al, 2017, Grouios, 2004. Leather lace-up boot wearers were also more likely to report navicular and cuboid pain (Dobson et al, 2017), suggesting the narrower foot breadth and instep in the leather lace-up boot is problematic.…”

“…Gumboot wearers, on the other hand, are more likely to have pain around the ball of their foot, compared to leather lace-up boot wearers (Dobson et al, 2017). Dobson et al (2017) suggested that this pain was likely because gumboots allowed too much movement around this region of the foot.…”

“…Dobson et al (2017) suggested that this pain was likely because gumboots allowed too much movement around this region of the foot. However, in the present study the leather lace-up boot had a significantly greater ball girth height than the gumboot, although the gumboot appeared to allow adequate room across the ball girth circumference and was not significantly different from the leather lace-up boot with respect to this variable (see Figure 6).…”

“…These work boots were: (i) a gumboot (Style 015; 2.7 kg; 37.5 cm shaft height; rubber; Blundstone®, Australia), and (ii) a leather lace-up boot (Style 65-691; 3.1 kg; 35 cm shaft height; full grain leather; Oliver, Australia) in sizes 9, 10, 11 and 12. Further details of the boots are documented elsewhere (Dobson et al, 2017). All of the miners who participated in the current study wore one of these boot types, with 60% wearing the gumboot and 40% wearing the leather lace-up boot.…”