Bilateral Balance And Footwear

Abstract

Less restrictive footwear has become quite popular recently. Sandals, flip-flops, some running shoes, and even articulated toe shoes have enticed potential customers with claims of being most like barefoot. However, little research exists to validate the claims that these shoes do indeed mimic the performance of a person when barefooted. While it is accepted that wearing shoes may alter the way one moves, a footwear option that would protect the foot from debris and injury yet still provide natural interaction of the foot to the ground would be preferable to traditional constraining shoes. PURPOSE: To compare the bilateral balance performance of individuals during barefoot (BF), athletic shoe (AS) and articulated toe shoe (ATS) conditions. METHODS: All subjects who volunteered as participants (N = 5, M = 29.4 yrs, 78.93 kg, 1.78 m) were asked to stand in a comfortable stance. Sway velocity (o/sec) data was collected using a NeuroCom® Basic Balance Master System™ and the Clinical Test of Sensory Integration on Balance protocol. Sway velocity was analyzed using a 2 (surface) × 3 (shoe condition) repeated measures ANOVA; comparing performance on a firm and foam surface across the three footwear conditions. RESULTS: Statistical significance was seen for sway velocity between surfaces (p =.01), but no statistically significant difference for sway velocity was noted (p =.71) across shoes types. However, it is interesting to note that ATS produced a sway velocity greater than the AS condition on the firm (BF = 0.2 O/s, AS = 0.26 O/s, ATS = 0.28 O/s) and foam surface (BF = 0.58 O/s, AS = 0.5 O/s, ATS = 0.52 O/s). CONCLUSION: While the lack of a significant finding is mostly due to the small number of participants (ATS were donated), this preliminary study does provide promising results and suggests that bilateral balance is not the same when compared between BF, AS and ATS conditions. Further, it also indicates that BF does not always provide for the least amount of sway.