Effects of shoe collar height and sole hardness on balance in older women.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether shoe collar height and sole hardness affect balance in older women.

DESIGN

A randomized order, cross-over, controlled comparison.

SETTING

Intermediate care institution and regional hospital.

PARTICIPANTS

Forty-two women aged 60 to 92 years (mean 76, SD = 9.03). The sample comprised 15 hostel (intermediate care) residents, 11 women who lived in a retirement village, and 16 women who lived independently in the community.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Postural sway, maximal balance range and coordinated stability.

MAIN RESULTS

The subjects underwent assessments of static balance (body sway) and dynamic balance (maximal balance range and coordinated stability) under five conditions: (1) in soft-soled bowls shoes, (2) in hard-soled bowls shoes, (3) in college-style shoes, (4) in college-style shoes with a high (boot) collar, and (5) barefoot. MANOVA analysis indicated that subjects were more stable when wearing the high collar shoes than when wearing the college shoes (P < .001) or when barefoot (P < .05). In contrast, subjects performed similarly in the balance tests in the soft and hard-soled shoes (P = .30) and no better than when barefoot (P = .12 and P = .93, respectively).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that subjects had better balance when wearing shoes with high collars than when wearing shoes with low collars and that sole hardness was not related to balance.