Abstract
BackgroundThe majority of multi-segment kinematic foot studies have been limited to barefoot conditions, because shod conditions have the potential for confounding surface-mounted markers. The aim of this study was to investigate whether a shoe modified with a webbed upper can accommodate multi-segment foot marker sets without compromising kinematic measurements under barefoot and shod conditions.MethodsThirty participants (15 controls and 15 participants with midfoot pain) underwent gait analysis in two conditions; barefoot and wearing a shoe (shod) in a random order. The shod condition employed a modified shoe (rubber plimsoll) with a webbed upper, allowing skin mounted reflective markers to be visualised through slits in the webbed material. Three dimensional foot kinematics were captured using the Oxford multi-segment foot model whilst participants walked at a self-selected speed.ResultsThe foot pain group showed greater hindfoot eversion and less hindfoot dorsiflexion than controls in the barefoot condition and these differences were maintained when measured in the shod condition. Differences between the foot pain and control participants were also observed for walking speed in the barefoot and in the shod conditions. No significant differences between foot pain and control groups were demonstrated at the forefoot in either condition.ConclusionsSubtle differences between pain and control groups, which were found during barefoot walking are retained when wearing the modified shoe. The novel properties of the modified shoe offers a potential solution for the use of passive infrared based motion analysis for shod applications, for instance to investigate the kinematic effect of foot orthoses.
Highlights
The majority of multi-segment kinematic foot studies have been limited to barefoot conditions, because shod conditions have the potential for confounding surface-mounted markers
Foot pain participants were matched for gender (11 females in each group) and within 5 years for age, which resulted in an older median age of 56 years in the foot pain group compared to the control group who had a median age of 49 years
Both groups were of similar height, median 1.62m in the control group, and median 1.66m in the foot pain group
Summary
The majority of multi-segment kinematic foot studies have been limited to barefoot conditions, because shod conditions have the potential for confounding surface-mounted markers. As modern multi-segment foot models require eight or more skin mounted markers dispersed across the foot, recent studies have employed sandals to accommodate surface reflective markers [4, 5]. This is a particular problem for the evaluation of in-shoe orthoses, which are difficult to secure in sandals and may alter how the insoles perform when measured in an enclosed shoe
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