Plantar pressures in three types of indigenous footwear, commercial minimal shoes, and conventional Western shoes, compared to barefoot walking

Willems, Catherine; Curtis, Rory; Pataky, Todd C.; D’Août, Kristiaan

doi:10.1080/19424280.2020.1825535

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 49 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…7e), suggesting high levels of variation in joint loading directions of the Holocene hunter-gatherers. Overall, these features are in line with adaptations to the high mobility requirements of a hunting and gathering subsistence strategy, where walking and running along uneven terrain were performed either unshod or wearing minimalistic foot coverings (Carlson et al, 2007;Willems et al, 2017Willems et al, , 2021Sorrentino et al, 2020b; Table 2; SOM Tables S1 and S2).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Unique foot posture in Neanderthals reflects their body mass and high mechanical stress

Sorrentino

Stephens

Marchi

et al. 2021

Journal of Human Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…The use of sandals is suggested in the North American Southwest around ca. 9000 BP (Geib, 2000), but this footwear was likely not hard soled and rigid similar to modern shoes (Willems et al, 2017(Willems et al, , 2021.…”

Section: Population Descriptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Unique foot posture in Neanderthals reflects their body mass and high mechanical stress

Sorrentino

Stephens

Marchi

et al. 2021

Journal of Human Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…This is a fundamental finding as it suggests that peak pressure distribution is not affected by the use of the bespoke 3D printed minimal footwear design, and indeed that the footwear allows the foot to behave similarly to natural barefoot conditions in a western population. Previous studies exploring peak pressure between minimal indigenous footwear designs and the barefoot condition for different populations report no significant statistical differences but identify visual variations in relative pressure between the shod and barefoot conditions (Willems et al, 2021). In contrast, this study yielded no obvious differences in relative peak pressures between the bespoke 3D-printed minimal footwear and the barefoot condition from either statistical or visual observation.…”

Section: Peak Pressurecontrasting

confidence: 77%

“…Footwear can provide benefits-such as protection against cold and mechanical injury, which have been the primary physiological and biomechanical benefit since their invention-without impairing a healthy foot function. Examples of less invasive footwear or minimal footwear (as defined by Esculier et al, 2015) exist all over the world and include the Kolhapuri sandal from India (Willems et al, 2017), the Nuvttohat boot from Northern Scandinavia, the N!ang n|osi sandal from Namibia (Willems et al, 2021) and the Huarache in Mexico (Wallace et al, 2018) and there is evidence that such footwear is at least 8,300 years old and possibly more (Kuttruff et al, 1998;Helm et al, 2023;Martıńez-Sevilla et al, 2023). Even though these shoes originate in different environments and climates, they share an essential feature: they do not (or barely) constrain the foot (for instance, they have no raised heel, no arch support, and a thin, flexible sole).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Walking with individualized 3D-printed minimal footwear increases foot strength and produces subtle changes in unroll pattern

Allen,

Pinheiro,

Schoenmaekers

et al. 2023

Front. Ecol. Evol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

IntroductionThis 5-month follow-up study, involving 66 subjects (38 intervention, 28 control; 34 females, 32 males), evaluated the biomechanics of walking while wearing bespoke, 3D-printed footwear.MethodsA 3D scanner was used to obtain foot shape, which was subsequently modified to yield a suitable instep and additional room in the forefoot and toe areas, to allow for potential shape changes of the foot. Shoes were manufactured using TPU laser sintering. Pre (T0) and post (T1) the intervention, plantar pressures were collected using a plantar pressure plate (3 trials per foot) and toe flexor strength (5 trials per foot) was measured using a dynamometer, for control and intervention groups. Plantar pressure peak patterns and center-of-pressure (CoP) timing was analysed using 2D and 1D Statistical Parametric Mapping, respectively. Toe strength changes were expressed in percent and per individual as: 100 x ((strength@T1strength@T0) / strength@T0).ResultsPeak pressure distribution did not differ between control and intervention populations, or between T0 and T1. Center-of-pressure unroll differed between barefoot and shod conditions at T0 for the intervention group. When barefoot, the intervention group at T1 showed a more lateral CoP in early stance and a more anterior CoP in late stance compared to T0. In the intervention group, toe strength increased significantly by 48.5% between T0 and T1.DiscussionOverall, the results indicate that the bespoke, 3D-printed footwear did not significantly affect peak pressure distribution compared to barefoot walking. However, center-of-pressure patterns during gait were influenced, particularly in the intervention group, with analysis indicative of barefoot subjects' CoP moving faster in early and mid-stance than when shod. Additionally, the intervention led to a significant increase in toe strength. These findings contribute to our understanding of the biomechanical effects of customized 3D-printed footwear and highlight the potential benefits of such interventions in improving foot function and strength.

show abstract

“…. Although we now have a better understanding of the mismatch between these conventional shoes and the limitations they put on foot biomechanics and proprioception (Boyle et al, 2019;Cudejko et al, 2020;Holowka et al, 2018;Holowka et al, 2019;Lieberman et al, 2010;Willems et al, 2020), the reasons why societies would want to adopt such footwear have yet to be thoroughly examined. Style (Riello & McNeil, 2006), protection from trauma (Engle & Morton, 1931), and comfort (Lieberman et al, 2010;Nigg, 1986) are notable benefits.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of human variation on foot and ankle pain in rural Madagascar

Tasnim

Schmitt

Zeininger

2021

American J Phys Anthropol

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives: Foot and ankle dysfunction in barefoot/minimally shod populations remains understudied. Although factors affecting musculoskeletal pain in Western populations are well-studied, little is known about how types of work, gender, and body shape influence bone and joint health in non-Western and minimally shod communities. This study examines the effect of human variation on locomotor disability in an agrarian community in Madagascar.Materials and methods: Foot measurements were collected along with height, weight, age, and self-report data on daily activity and foot and ankle pain from 41 male and 48 female adults. A short form revised foot function index (FFI-R), that measures functional disability related to foot pain, was calculated. Raw and normalized foot measurements were compared by gender and used in a multiple linear regression model to determine predictors of FFI-R.Results: Compared to men, women reported higher FFI-R scores (p = 0.014), spent more time on their feet (p = 0.019), and had higher BMIs (p = 0.0001). For their weight, women had significantly smaller and narrower feet than men. Bimalleolar breadth (p = 0.0005) and foot length (p = 0.0223) standardized by height, time spent on feet (p = 0.0102), ankle circumference standardized by weight (p = 0.0316), and age (p = 0.0090) were significant predictors of FFI-R score.Discussion: Our findings suggest that human variation in anatomical and behavioral patterns serve as significant explanations for increased foot and ankle pain in women in this non-Western rural population. Foot and ankle pain were prevalent at similar levels to those in industrialized populations, indicating that research should continue to examine its effect on similar barefoot/minimally shod communities.

show abstract

Plantar pressures in three types of indigenous footwear, commercial minimal shoes, and conventional Western shoes, compared to barefoot walking

Cited by 5 publications

References 49 publications

Unique foot posture in Neanderthals reflects their body mass and high mechanical stress

Unique foot posture in Neanderthals reflects their body mass and high mechanical stress

Walking with individualized 3D-printed minimal footwear increases foot strength and produces subtle changes in unroll pattern

Effects of human variation on foot and ankle pain in rural Madagascar

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About