The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hung Hom, China.
Hum Factors. 2019 Dec;61(8):1247-1260. doi: 10.1177/0018720819837414. Epub 2019 Apr 5.
The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of indoor footwear with a textured surface to improve control of balance and reduce excessive plantar pressure in older women.
Balance instability is a common condition in older people. Textured insoles with protrusions on the entire insole have been examined for enhancing somatosensory feedback in the elderly to improve control over balance. However, these insoles have significant challenges in distributing the plantar pressure. Textured insoles with tailored protrusions should be therefore investigated for the same purpose but provide better plantar pressure distribution.
A total of 24 older women have undergone both static standing and walking tests with the use of the in-shoe Pedar® system.
The results indicate that wearing textured indoor footwear provides a significant reduction in postural sway, particularly in the medial-lateral direction during walking. As compared to walking barefoot, the center-of-pressure trajectory when wearing the textured indoor footwear remains supported with less variance among the steps, which is statistically significant in the medial-lateral direction. A significant reduction in the peak pressure is found in the forefoot and rearfoot regions as the plantar pressure is redistributed to the midfoot regions.
The textured surface of the insole improves balance control of older women and effectively reduces foot pressure at high pressure areas.
The findings enhance current understanding on textured footwear as a form of intervention associated with changes in functional impairments, therefore providing basis for footwear design in balance control.
本研究旨在评估具有纹理表面的室内鞋在改善平衡控制和减少老年女性过度足底压力方面的功效。
平衡不稳是老年人常见的情况。具有整个鞋垫上有突起的纹理鞋垫已被研究用于增强老年人的本体感觉反馈，以改善平衡控制。然而，这些鞋垫在分布足底压力方面存在很大的挑战。因此，具有定制突起的纹理鞋垫应被用于相同的目的，但提供更好的足底压力分布。
共有 24 名老年女性接受了静态站立和行走测试，使用了鞋内 Pedar®系统。
结果表明，穿着纹理室内鞋可显著减少姿势摆动，特别是在行走时的横向方向。与赤脚行走相比，穿着纹理室内鞋时的中心压力轨迹保持支撑，步间变化较小，在横向方向上具有统计学意义。前脚和后脚区域的峰值压力显著降低，因为足底压力重新分布到中足区域。
鞋垫的纹理表面改善了老年女性的平衡控制能力，并有效降低了高压力区域的足部压力。
这些发现增强了对纹理鞋作为与功能障碍变化相关的干预形式的理解，从而为平衡控制的鞋类设计提供了基础。
