Abstract
Maintaining postural stability is crucial, especially in hazardous occupational environments. The purpose of the study was to assess the role of three occupational footwear (low top shoe (LT); tactical work boot (TB) and steel-toed work boot (WB)) on postural stability when exposed to an occupational workload (4-h) involving standing/walking using the sensory organization test (SOT) equilibrium (EQ) scores and comparing current results with previously published postural sway variables from the same study. Fourteen male adults were tested on three separate days wearing a randomized occupational footwear, at the beginning (pre) and every 30 min of the 4-h workload until 240th min. SOT EQ scores were analyzed using a 3 × 9 repeated measures analysis of variance at an alpha level of 0.05. Significant differences between footwear was found in eyes open (p = 0.03) and eyes closed (p = 0.001) conditions. Pairwise comparisons revealed that LT had significantly lower postural stability compared to TB and WB. No other significant differences were found between footwear and over time. Significant differences between footwear can be attributed to design characteristics of footwear. Lack of significant differences over time suggests that, even though the average EQ scores decreased during the workload implying less postural stability, SOT EQ scores alone may not be sufficient to detect postural stability changes over the 4-h workload.
Highlights
Postural control is regarded as a skill where the central nervous system utilizes sensory and motor systems to maintain postural stability [1]
Pairwise comparisons using a Bonferroni correction further revealed that tactical work boot (TB) and work boot (WB) had significantly higher EQ scores compared to the Low Top Shoe (LT) in the eyes closed (EC)
Occupational footwear and workload play a critical role in influencing postural stability
Summary
Postural control is regarded as a skill where the central nervous system utilizes sensory and motor systems to maintain postural stability [1]. Degradation or defect in any of these systems increases the probability of postural instability and a possibility of a fall [2]. The physical exertion due to such occupations and the environmental constraints of the workplace, create greater demands on the postural control system and increase the risk of occupational falls [3]. Increases in postural sway, which often accompany fatigue, mark decreased stability. These increases in sway can be attributed to impairments of any of these systems [2]. Muscular fatigue or exertion, resulting from such physical demands of the occupation is considered as an important intrinsic human factor that plays a significant role in postural control.
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