Pressure Distribution of Diabetic Patients after Sensory-Motor Training with Unstable Shoe Construction

Rollover footwear affects lower limb biomechanics during walking

“…During the first 12% of stance phase the curved sole of the rollover shoe and MBT footwear moved the point of contact forward under the foot and pressure was transferred from the heel to the midfoot [5,16]. In accordance with our hypothesis this altered the external (and therefore internal in our data) ankle moments resulting in reduced ankle plantarflexion and reduced ankle dorsiflexor muscle activity after initial contact.…”

“…We assume this occurs because the curved profile of the footwear allows the body centre of mass to move forwards more easily, and reduces the demand for internal ankle plantarflexion moment and ankle power generation [4,18]. This might also contribute to the reduced forefoot pressure observed [5,15,19]. However, contrary to our hypothesis, only MBT displaced the COP anteriorly under the shoe in propulsion (Fig.…”

“…Concurring with others [2,3,5,7], in mid stance the COP moved forward under the shoe and pressure increased under the mid foot with the rollover and MBT footwear. There was a greater external dorsiflexor moment resulting in a more dorsiflexed ankle position.…”

“…However, despite it being fundamental to any effect on gait and directly related to sole shape, changes in the contact point under the footwear have not been reported. Likewise changes in plantar loading are too inconsistent [5,6] to explain how sole profile affects loading of the foot. Furthermore, ankle plantarflexion is part of the lower limb shock absorption mechanism, and we hypothesise that reducing plantarflexion might lead to the Aim: To investigate the effect of rollover footwear on walking speed, metabolic cost of gait, lower limb kinematics, kinetics, EMG muscle activity and plantar pressure.…”

“…To date, however, the literature has generally focussed on how separate aspects of gait are affected e.g. kinematics and kinetics [1][2][3][4], or plantar pressure [5,6], or EMG [7,8], or energy cost [9,10], but not how changes in one data might relate to changes in other data. Thus, it is not clear what kinematic or EMG changes occurred when changes in metabolic cost of walking were observed [9,10].…”