Article

Effect of work boot type on work footwear habits, lower limb pain and perceptions of work boot fit and comfort in underground coal miners

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Abstract

Lower limb injuries are highly prevalent in underground coal mining. Wearing gumboots with inadequate ankle support was thought to contribute to these injuries. Despite the uptake of leather lace-up boots, which provide more ankle support, no recent research could be found investigating the effect of this alternative work boot in underground coal mining. Consequently, this study aimed to determine whether boot type (gumboot, leather lace-up boot) influenced work footwear habits, foot problems, lower limb pain, lower back pain, or perceptions of work boot fit and comfort in underground coal miners. Chi-squared tests were applied to 358 surveys completed by underground coal miners to determine whether responses differed significantly (p < 0.05) according to boot-type. There were no significant between-boot differences in regards to the presence of foot problems, lower limb pain or lower back pain. However, the types of foot problems and locations of foot pain differed according to boot type. Gumboot wearers were also more likely to state that their work boot comfort was either ‘uncomfortable’ or ‘indifferent’, their work boot fit was ‘poor’ and their current boot did not provide enough support. The introduction of more structured leather lace-up boots appears to have positively influenced the support and fit provided by mining work boots, although foot problems, lower limb pain and lower back pain continue to be reported. Further investigation is recommended to identify which specific boot design features caused these observed differences in work boot fit, comfort and locations of foot pain and how these design features can be manipulated to create an underground coal mining work boot that is comfortable and reduces the high incidence of foot problems and lower limb pain suffered by underground coal miners.

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... The total number of included patients was 2063, although two studies [14,15] shared a common population sample. Four studies [6,[14][15][16] focused on a specific demographic group of workers, while the others [7,9,11] explored a more heterogeneous worker population. ...
... The total number of included patients was 2063, although two studies [14,15] shared a common population sample. Four studies [6,[14][15][16] focused on a specific demographic group of workers, while the others [7,9,11] explored a more heterogeneous worker population. Age and gender distribution were not consistently reported across all articles; some studies only provided age ranges, precluding the calculation of a precise mean age. ...
... All analysed studies reported a sensation of discomfort among participants. Discomfort was most commonly assessed using a descriptive scale, assigning adjectives such as "indifferent", "comfortable", or "uncomfortable" to the discomfort sensation [7,14,15]. In other studies [6,9,11,16], researchers investigated factors leading participants to perceive SF as uncomfortable, such as excessive heat and sweating, heaviness, and the shaft flexibility and sole rigidity of the SF (Table 3). ...
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Background: This study aims to assess the impact of safety footwear (SF) on workers concerning foot-related problems, especially regarding discomfort, foot pain, and skin lesions. Methods: A literature search of PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and Cochrane databases was performed according to PRISMA guidelines. Studies reporting foot-related problems in workers wearing SF were included. Exclusion criteria included non-English papers, reviews, laboratory and animal studies, expert opinions, letters to the editor, and grey literature. The quality assessment was performed using the Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Descriptive statistic was used to present data. Result: The initial search results yielded 483 articles; 7 articles were included in the review process. Despite the extensive variety of SF, all studies consistently reported symptomatic discomfort and pain. The discomfort factors included heat, sweating, heaviness, and footwear flexibility, with primary issues in the toes, toecaps, or metatarsal–toe crease region. The pain prevalence ranged from 42.3% to 60.8% in various anatomical regions. Irritant Contact Dermatitis was the most common (97.9%) foot dermatosis, but other foot lesions were reported: dry skin (30.2%), calluses (30%), hard nails (28%), corns (27%), and blisters. Conclusions: Current SFs are designed to comply with safety regulations but are influenced by the frequent occurrence of discomfort and foot problems. The literature review identified weaknesses in certain design features. Recommendations have been proposed to improve SF development. These include addressing issues such as the selection of specific types and designs of SF based on task performance and the working environment, footwear weight, and breathable materials for moisture permeation. Considerations should also encompass distinct sizing for an optimal fit, insole application, especially for prolonged standing users, and education programs to prevent foot-related issues.
... Regarding the countries in which the studies were conducted, 3 of the 27 studies were conducted in Australia [24,25,35], another 3 in Spain [5,23,33], 3 in the USA [19,32,34], 1 in Colombia [18], 1 in China [31], 1 in Paraguay [17], 2 in Greece [27,36], 1 in Japan [21], 1 in Ethiopia [20], 2 in Germany [2,30], 2 in Iran [29,37], 1 in Bolivia [4] and 1 in Latvia [28]. ...
... Most of the studies (n = 5) were conducted in the setting of a hospital [17][18][19][20][21]. Others were conducted in miners (n = 2) [24,25], seafarers (n = 1) [5], the wine industry (n = 1) [35], farmers (n = 2) [34,37], aerobics instructors (n = 1) [36], firefighters (n = 2) [31,32], aircraft and automotive industry workers (n = 1) [2], and military personnel (n = 4) [27][28][29][30]. They were also carried out in industries with the support of universities (n = 1) [4] or researching different sectors at the same time (n = 4) [1,3,4,23,33]. ...
... In other sectors such as the construction, telecommunications, and the hotel and catering industry, the same problems were observed, to which other problems could be added such as those derived from the use of closed footwear with reinforced toecaps, which results in greater weight and less comfort [23]. In addition, in sectors such as the wine industry, the aeronautical industry and firefighting, more than half of the workers had calluses, dry skin and tinea pedis, as well as pain in the foot, specifically in the sole, external malleolus, heel, calcaneus and cuboid areas [24,25]. Finally, in a group with a special regime, the military personnel, no difference was observed in terms of a higher incidence of injuries when using military boots [26][27][28][29], with the exception of the study by Schulze et al. [30], which concluded that footwear had a significant influence on gait parameters and the functionality of the lower limb. ...
Article
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Background Occupational footwear is intended to provide protection against the risks associated with work activities. The choice of footwear is complex due to the welfare, health and safety conditions of workers. Aims To identify the injuries and problems caused by occupational footwear through a systematic review of the existing literature. Methods A literature search was carried out in the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, Dialnet Plus, Pubmed, Scientific Electronic Library Online, Medline, Scopus and Web of Science databases over the period 2000–23, following the PRISMA Declaration guidelines. Results A total of 27 studies were included in the review. The results indicated that there is a wide variety of injuries caused by occupational footwear: from dermal injuries (e.g. calluses) and injuries to the nail apparatus to inflammatory pathologies such as plantar fasciitis or bursitis. In addition, inappropriate footwear can cause pain in the ankle and foot, knees, hips and lower back. Other results include the discomfort derived from the footwear itself. Conclusions Inappropriate footwear can cause injuries to the foot and other related bone structures. Further studies are needed on the detection of foot injuries caused by occupational footwear and the levels of action at this level to improve the worker’s health, the adaptability of the footwear to the wearer, and the worker’s comfort and adherence to the footwear.
... Public Health 2022, 19, 10703 4 of 59 S2. The 50 articles to inform the review included 25 quasi-experimental studies [2,[7][8][9][10][27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46], eight cross-sectional [47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54], four randomised control trials [55][56][57][58], three cohort studies [59][60][61], three narrative reviews [62][63][64], three systematic reviews [13,65,66], three conference abstracts [67][68][69], and one case-control study [70]. ...
... The included articles represented work from 16 countries, with nine population types, and 12 footwear types reported on. The countries from which the articles were drawn included 21 from the United States of America [8,10,30,32,36,[40][41][42][43]45,49,50,[52][53][54]56,58,61,[63][64][65]; seven from Australia [2,7,13,31,47,48,59]; three from Germany [9,33,44]; two from Brazil [38,39], England [29,62], India [37,70], Poland [34,60], and Saudi Arabia [27,28]; and one from Denmark [46], France [68], Japan [51], Netherlands [57], New Zealand [66], Portugal [67], South Korea [35], and Switzerland [55]. Regarding population types, 13 articles discussed military populations [8,13,[37][38][39][40][41]44,50,[63][64][65][66], nine discussed firefighters [7,10,13,30,32,35,42,43,60], six discussed trade/industrial workers (ship, construction, factory, and hairdressing) [8,33,45,67,68,70], six discussed mine workers [2,31,36,47,48,59], five discussed automotive workers [9,49,[52][53][54], five discussed hospital/healthcare workers [29,51,54,57,58], two discussed healthy adults [34,46], two discussed university workers [27,28], two discussed school food service workers [56,61] and one review [62] discussed a broad range of populations. ...
... The countries from which the articles were drawn included 21 from the United States of America [8,10,30,32,36,[40][41][42][43]45,49,50,[52][53][54]56,58,61,[63][64][65]; seven from Australia [2,7,13,31,47,48,59]; three from Germany [9,33,44]; two from Brazil [38,39], England [29,62], India [37,70], Poland [34,60], and Saudi Arabia [27,28]; and one from Denmark [46], France [68], Japan [51], Netherlands [57], New Zealand [66], Portugal [67], South Korea [35], and Switzerland [55]. Regarding population types, 13 articles discussed military populations [8,13,[37][38][39][40][41]44,50,[63][64][65][66], nine discussed firefighters [7,10,13,30,32,35,42,43,60], six discussed trade/industrial workers (ship, construction, factory, and hairdressing) [8,33,45,67,68,70], six discussed mine workers [2,31,36,47,48,59], five discussed automotive workers [9,49,[52][53][54], five discussed hospital/healthcare workers [29,51,54,57,58], two discussed healthy adults [34,46], two discussed university workers [27,28], two discussed school food service workers [56,61] and one review [62] discussed a broad range of populations. The types of footwear discussed included 19 articles on work safety boots/shoes (light, medium, heavy duty; industrial, comfort, unstable, gumboots, steel capped) [ [8,13,[37][38][39][40][41]44,50,[63][64][65][66], 13 on sports shoes (trainers, running, tennis, basketball) [8,10,29,40,[43][44][45][46]51,55,58,61,67], nine on firefighter boots (pull-up bunker, leather, rubber) [7,10,13,30,32,35,42,43,60], four on unstable shoes [49,58,67,68], three on sandals/sandal like conditions [29,34,35], two on clogs [29,57], two on dress shoes [29,44], two on hiking boots [13,34], and one on Wellington boots [29], and slip resistant shoes [56]. ...
Article
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The aim of this scoping review was to investigate the impact of footwear on worker physical task performance and injury risk. The review was guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews protocol and registered in the Open Science Framework. Key search terms were entered into five academic databases. Following a dedicated screening process and critical appraisal, data from the final articles informing this review were extracted, tabulated, and synthesised. Of 19,614 identified articles, 50 articles informed this review. Representing 16 countries, the most common populations investigated were military and firefighter populations, but a wide range of general occupations (e.g., shipping, mining, hairdressing, and healthcare workers) were represented. Footwear types included work safety boots/shoes (e.g., industrial, gumboots, steel capped, etc.,), military and firefighter boots, sports shoes (trainers, tennis, basketball, etc.,) and various other types (e.g., sandals, etc.). Occupational footwear was found to impact gait and angular velocities, joint ranges of motion, posture and balance, physiological measures (like aerobic capacity, heart rates, temperatures, etc.), muscle activity, and selected occupational tasks. Occupational footwear associated with injuries included boots, conventional running shoes, shoes with inserts, harder/stiffer outsoles or thin soles, and shoes with low comfort scores—although the findings were mixed. Occupational footwear was also linked to potentially causing injuries directly (e.g., musculoskeletal injuries) as well as leading to mechanisms associated with causing injuries (like tripping and slipping).
... Most studies were laboratory-based, repeated measures designs where comfort was measured under different footwear and/or insole conditions [14, 15, 18, 20-23, 25-30, 33, 35-39, 41, 43-48, 50-55, 57, 58, 60-71, 73-79, 81-87, 89, 90, 93, 97, 98, 100-105], but there were also 13 surveys [1, 3, 9-11, 16, 19, 24, 40, 56, 88, 92, 96], eight clinical trials [12,34,42,49,59,94,95,99], three qualitative studies [13,17,91] and three reviews [5,7,72]. Sample size ranged from 5 to 1524, and primarily included healthy young adults [10, 14, 15, 17, 18, 22, 28, 31, 32, 35, 37, 43-46, 48, 50, 53, 54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 67, 74-76, 78, 79, 83, 88, 90, 101-104], but also children [71,91], older people [1,52,63,76], participants with medical conditions (such as diabetes [16,27,68,105], rheumatoid arthritis [29], patellofemoral pain [73], plantar fasciitis [99], hallux valgus [93] and non-specific musculoskeletal disorders/symptoms [25,95]), specific occupational groups (such as military personnel [42,69,85,89], factory workers [9,12], school teachers [11], kitchen staff [13], hospital staff [13], coal miners [40,41] and police officers [94]) and sportspeople (such as runners [26,30,36,39,47,49,65,66,70,77,82,84,86,98], basketball players [61,62,92,100], soccer players [38,87,97], cyclists [20,21], aerobic dancers [34], skiers [51], rugby players [59], people attending gymnasiums [3], badminton players [55] and tennis players [96]). ...
... A wide range of measurement tools have been used to quantify comfort, including simple dichotomous responses [11,12,29,94], ranking footwear conditions in order of preference [14, 31-33, 36, 47, 48, 52, 60, 63-65, 76, 77, 79, 81], 4-point [42,80], 5-point [37,40,45,58,70,76,97], 6-point [59], 7-point [47,64,79,87], 9-point [57] and 12-point [41] Likert scales, 10-point numerical rating scales [43,78], and 100 mm [15, 16, 18-21, 27, 28, 30, 35, 39, 48, 49, 53, 56, 63-65, 67, 68, 71, 73, 74, 77, 79, 82, 85, 89, 90, 93, 99, 104, 105], 150 mm [22,25,26,36,46,50,55,61,62,66,69,75,83,84,98,100] and 170 mm [44] visual analog scales. The anchor statements indicating the lowest possible comfort score included 'not comfortable at all' [19-22, 25, 26, 30, 39, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56, 61-65, 73, 79, 82-85, 89, 93], 'very uncomfortable' [27,28,40,41,45,46,58,68,74,78,79,98], 'least comfortable' [44,76,80,90], 'extremely uncomfortable' [48,59,89], 'not comfortable' [71,75], 'not at all comfortable' [15,18], 'not acceptable' [37,70], 'totally disagree' [10], 'least comfortable imaginable' [35], 'not satisfactory' [42], 'very bad comfort' [43], 'very, very low' [47], 'minimum comfort' [69], 'maximal pain/discomfort' [99], 'not very comfortable' [100], 'completely uncomfortable' [104], 'extremely bad' [57] and 'unbearable discomfort' [87]. ...
... A wide range of measurement tools have been used to quantify comfort, including simple dichotomous responses [11,12,29,94], ranking footwear conditions in order of preference [14, 31-33, 36, 47, 48, 52, 60, 63-65, 76, 77, 79, 81], 4-point [42,80], 5-point [37,40,45,58,70,76,97], 6-point [59], 7-point [47,64,79,87], 9-point [57] and 12-point [41] Likert scales, 10-point numerical rating scales [43,78], and 100 mm [15, 16, 18-21, 27, 28, 30, 35, 39, 48, 49, 53, 56, 63-65, 67, 68, 71, 73, 74, 77, 79, 82, 85, 89, 90, 93, 99, 104, 105], 150 mm [22,25,26,36,46,50,55,61,62,66,69,75,83,84,98,100] and 170 mm [44] visual analog scales. The anchor statements indicating the lowest possible comfort score included 'not comfortable at all' [19-22, 25, 26, 30, 39, 49, 50, 53, 55, 56, 61-65, 73, 79, 82-85, 89, 93], 'very uncomfortable' [27,28,40,41,45,46,58,68,74,78,79,98], 'least comfortable' [44,76,80,90], 'extremely uncomfortable' [48,59,89], 'not comfortable' [71,75], 'not at all comfortable' [15,18], 'not acceptable' [37,70], 'totally disagree' [10], 'least comfortable imaginable' [35], 'not satisfactory' [42], 'very bad comfort' [43], 'very, very low' [47], 'minimum comfort' [69], 'maximal pain/discomfort' [99], 'not very comfortable' [100], 'completely uncomfortable' [104], 'extremely bad' [57] and 'unbearable discomfort' [87]. The anchor statements indicating the highest possible comfort score included 'most comfortable imaginable' [19-22, 25, 26, 30, 35, 39, 46, 50, 53, 56, 61, 63, 65, 73, 79, 82-84], 'very comfortable' [18,27,28,40,41,49,58,68,71,74,75,78,79,98,100], 'most comfortable' [44,55,62,76,80,85,90], 'extremely comfortable' [48,59,87], 'just right' [37,70], 'totally agree' [10], 'very much' [15], 'excellent' [42], 'very good comfort' [43], 'not at all uncomfortable' [45], 'very, very high' [47], 'maximum comfort' [69], 'maximal comfortable' [64], 'no pain/discomfort' [99], 'completely comfortable' [104], 'most conceivable comfort' [93] and 'extremely good' [57]. ...
Article
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Objective To provide a narrative synthesis of the research literature pertaining to footwear comfort, including definitions, measurement scales, footwear design features, and physiological and psychological factors. Methods A systematic search was conducted which yielded 101 manuscripts. The most relevant manuscripts were selected based on the predetermined subheadings of the review (definitions, measurement scales, footwear design features, and physiological and psychological factors). A narrative synthesis of the findings of the included studies was undertaken. Results The available evidence is highly fragmented and incorporates a wide range of study designs, participants, and assessment approaches, making it challenging to draw strong conclusions or implications for clinical practice. However, it can be broadly concluded that (i) simple visual analog scales may provide a reliable overall assessment of comfort, (ii) well-fitted, lightweight shoes with soft midsoles and curved rocker-soles are generally perceived to be most comfortable, and (iii) the influence of sole flexibility, shoe microclimate and insoles is less clear and likely to be more specific to the population, setting and task being performed. Conclusion Footwear comfort is a complex and multifaceted concept that is influenced not only by structural and functional aspects of shoe design, but also task requirements and anatomical and physiological differences between individuals. Further research is required to delineate the contribution of specific shoe features more clearly, and to better understand the interaction between footwear features and individual physiological attributes.
... Thirty-six studies designated the country or countries where the study was conducted. Seven studies were completed in Australia (Davis et al., 2013;Dobson et al., 2017Dobson et al., , 2018aDobson et al., , 2018bHennessy et al., 2007;Matthias et al., 2021;Mills et al., 2018), seven from the USA (Cornwall & McPoil, 2017;Day & Hahn, 2020;Grier et al., 2011;Kong & Bagdon, 2010;Luczak et al., 2020;Pace et al., 2020;Saxton et al., 2020), seven from the UK (Anderson et al., 2021;Chuter et al., 2016;Clinghan et al., 2008;Hurst et al., 2017;Janson et al., 2021;Jordan & Bartlett, 1995;Melvin et al., 2019), three from the Netherlands (Arts et al., 2014;Zwaferink et al., 2020Zwaferink et al., , 2021, two each from Italy (Colonna et al., 2017;Franciosa et al., 2013), and Spain (Llana et al., 2002;L opez-Moral et al., 2020), one each from Denmark (Jensen & Laursen 2011), New Zealand (Frecklington et al., 2019), Hong Kong (Au & Goonetilleke, 2007), Malaysia (Chee-Kidd & Vivek, 2009), India (Govindasamy et al., 2020), Ethiopia (Getie et al., 2021) and Brazil (Dinato et al., 2015). One study completed investigations in two primary locations (Liverpool, England and Greater Beijing Area, China) (Apps et al., 2015). ...
... Only nine studies did not report on the gender ratio of the participants. Two studies investigated children (aged less than 13 years) (Herbaut et al., 2019;Matthias et al., 2021), three studies investigated adolescents (13-18 years) (Lam et al., 2019;Muniz & Bini, 2017;Park et al., 2017), 90 studies investigated adult populations (age 19þ years) (Anderson et al., 2021;Apps et al., 2015;Arezes et al., 2013;Arts et al., 2014;Au & Goonetilleke, 2007;Bergstra et al., 2015;Bishop et al., 2020;Branthwaite et al., 2014;Burke, 2012;Bus et al., 2009;Cha, 2020;Chan et al., 2020;Che et al., 1994;Chee-Kidd & Vivek, 2009;Chu et al., 2014;Chuter et al., 2016;Clinghan et al., 2008;Colonna et al., 2015;Cornwall & McPoil, 2017;Crews & Candela, 2018;Davis et al., 2013;Day & Hahn, 2020;Dinato et al., 2015;Dobson et al., 2017Dobson et al., , 2018bDobson et al., , 2018a2020;Franciosa et al., 2013;Frecklington et al., 2019;Fuchs et al., 2020;Gao & Abeysekera, 2000;Getie et al., 2021;Govindasamy et al., 2020;Grier et al., 2011;Haene et al., 2012;Hennessy et al., 2007;Herbaut et al., 2016;Hintzy et al., 2015;Hoerzer et al., 2016;Hofer et al., 2014;Hollawell & Baione, 2015;Hong et al., 2005Hong et al., , 2016Hurst et al., 2017;Isherwood et al., 2021;Janson et al., 2021;Jensen & Laursen 2011;Jerosch et al., 1995;Jiang et al., 2016;Jordan & Bartlett, 1995;Kong & Bagdon, 2010;Koska & Maiwald, 2020;Lam et al., 2011Lam et al., , 2017Lane et al., 2014;Lindorfer et al., 2019aLindorfer et al., , 2019bLindorfer et al., , 2020Liu et al., 2021;Llana et al., 2002;L opez-Moral et al., 2020;Luczak et al., 2020;Luo et al., 2009;Melia et al., 2021;Melvin et al., 2019;Meyer et al., 2018; Mills et al., 2010Mills et al., , 2018Mo et al., 2020;M€ undermann et al., 2001Nigg et al., 1986;Okholm Kryger et al. 2017Pace et al., 2020;Peng et al., 2020;Saxton et al., 2020;Schuh et al., 2011;Sinclair et al., 2016;Sterzing et al., 2013;Thordarson et al., 2001;Thordarson, Ebramzadeh, Moorthy, et al., 2005;Van Alsenoy et al., 2019;West et al., 2020;Witana et al., 2009;Zhang et al., 2019;Zwaferink et al., 2020Zwaferink et al., , 2021. Four studies did not describe the age range or average ages of their participants. ...
... The healthy participants fell into five main categories (workers and students, runners, other athletes/ sportspeople, military and undefined). Eleven studies investigated workers and students; including coal miners (Dobson et al., 2017(Dobson et al., , 2018a(Dobson et al., , 2018b, metal refining plant workers (Akbar-Khanzadeh, 1998), health professionals (Anderson et al., 2021;Getie et al., 2021), engineering students (Franciosa et al., 2013), fishermen (Jensen & Laursen 2011), students from Quanzhou Normal University (Peng et al., 2020), from University of Salford (Melvin et al., 2019) and a college community campus (Burke, 2012). Twenty studies targeted runners with different specifications for training status and running history including; endurance runners (Bergstra et al., 2015;Dinato et al., 2015), greater than 50 km per week (Day & Hahn, 2020), at least 30 km per week (Liu et al., 2021), a minimum distance requirement of 20 km per week (Isherwood et al., 2021;Lindorfer et al., 2019b;2020), more than 12 km per week (Mo et al., 2020) a minimum distance requirement of 10 km per week (Mills et al., 2018), at least 5 km per week (Bishop et al., 2020), a minimum time requirement (Jerosch et al., 1995;Mills et al., 2010), and one study investigated trail runners (Hintzy et al., 2015). ...
Article
Perceived footwear comfort influences wearability and can impact on physical mobility, performance and foot-related complaints. To date, there has been no comprehensive review of the characteristics or methods for measuring perceived footwear comfort. The aims of this systematic review were to identify, appraise and synthesise the literature on methods used to assess perceived footwear comfort, and report their validity and reliability. Electronic databases were systematically searched and the articles screened and appraised for methodological risk of bias using a modified Quality Index checklist. Data on footwear comfort assessment tools (methods, populations, footwear types, reliability/validity) was extracted by two reviewers. A narrative synthesis was undertaken to describe the findings. Ninety-nine articles involving 6980 participants were assessed as eligible for review. Perceived footwear comfort has been assessed by a variety of methods including the visual analogue scale (VAS), Likert-type scales, ranking scales and questionnaires. The studies have covered a range of populations, both healthy and pathological, ranging between ages 8 and 75 years, most commonly adults. Investigations into reliability of perceived footwear comfort scales were limited, and whilst some tools had evidence of moderate to high reliability, findings were population dependent. Developmental or independent validity testing was typically not undertaken. Risk of bias was variable across studies. Perceived footwear comfort assessment has been performed across a wide range of populations and footwear types. Whilst select measures had evidence for their reliability, the results were variable and population dependent. There is scope for further research into the reliability and validity of perceived footwear comfort assessment tools in different populations.
... These work boots were: (i) a gumboot (Style 015; 2.7 kg; 37.5 cm shaft height; rubber; Blundstone®, Australia), and (ii) a leather lace-up boot (Style 65-691; 3.1 kg; 35 cm shaft height; full grain leather; Oliver, Australia) in sizes 9, 10, 11 and 12. Further details of the boots are documented elsewhere (Dobson et al. 2017). All of the miners who participated in the current study wore one of these boot types, with 60% wearing the gumboot and 40% wearing the leather lace-up boot. ...
... In the current study, the miners' feet were closer to the end of the gumboot, which has a wider forefoot design compared to the narrower leather lace-up boot. This result further supports the relationship between foot width and boot size selection, and is consistent with previous research where gumboot wearers were more likely to select a work boot that was smaller than their everyday shoe size compared to leather lace-up boot wearers who were more likely to select a work boot larger than their everyday shoe (Dobson et al. 2017). Discomfort can result from selecting a work boot that is larger than the foot. ...
... Foot breadth, heel breadth, heel circumference, toe 5 angle, instep height and instep circumference are variables where the leather lace-up boot was narrower than the gumboot across all boot sizes (see Figure 6). Corns, bunions and foot problems that result from increased pressure on the foot are more common in wearers of the narrower leather lace-up boot compared to gumboot wearers (Dobson et al. 2017;Grouios 2004). Leather lace-up boot wearers were also more likely to report navicular and cuboid pain (Dobson et al. 2017), suggesting the narrower foot breadth and instep in the leather lace-up boot is problematic. ...
Article
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Mining work boots provide an interface between the foot and the ground, protecting and supportingminers' feet during lengthy coal mining shifts. Although underground coal miners report the fit of their work boots as reasonable to good, theyfrequently rate their boots as uncomfortable, suggesting that there is a mismatch between the shape of their feet and their boots. This study aimed toidentify whether dimensions derived from the three-dimensional scans of 208 underground coal miner's feet (age 38.3 ± 9.8 years)differed from the internal dimensions of their work boots. The results revealed underground coal miners wore bootsthat were substantially longerthan their feet,possibly because boots available in their correct length were too narrow. It is recommended boot manufactures reassess the algorithms used to create boot lasts, focusing on adjusting boot circumference at the instep and heel relative to increases in foot length. Practitioner Summary Fit and comfort ratings suggest a mismatch between the shape of underground coal miner's feet and their boots exists. This study examined whether three-dimensional scans of 208 miner's feet differed from their boot internal dimensions. Miners wore boots substantially longer than their feet, possibly due to inadequate width.
... Over the last decade advances in materials have resulted in structurally different underground coal mining work boot construction in regards to boot mass, shaft stiffness, shaft height and sole flexibility (Dobson et al., 2017a). These are all boot design features that have previously been shown to alter movement of the foot and, consequently, the way boot wearers walk (Dobson et al., 2017b). ...
... Because the boot with a flexible shaft was 40 g lighter, small fishing sinkers (Size 1, Rogue, Australia) were attached across the boots with a flexible shaft to ensure the boots had the same overall mass. All the boots were made to be wider across the forefoot and heel relative to current commercially-available safety work boots to account for the wide shape of coal miner's feet (Dobson et al., 2017a(Dobson et al., , 2017b(Dobson et al., , 2018b(Dobson et al., , 2018d. ...
Article
The structural features of work boots worn by underground coal miners affect comfort, foot motion and, in turn, loading of the plantar surface of miners' feet. Although shaft stiffness and sole flexibility appear to be boot design features that could influence perceived comfort and plantar pressures, no study has systematically altered these boot design features to truly understand how they affect these parameters. This study aimed to systematically investigate the effect of changes to shaft stiffness and sole flexibility on perceived comfort and plantar pressures when 20 males walked on a simulated gravel coal mining surface under four different work boot conditions. There were no significant effects of shaft stiffness or sole flexibility on perceived comfort. However, shaft stiffness and sole flexibility each significantly affected the plantar pressures generated under the medial midfoot, heel, middle metatarsals and hallux and, in combination, affected plantar pressures generated beneath the lateral midfoot, medial and lateral metatarsals and lesser toes. Participants preferred a boot with a flexible shaft combined with a stiff sole, citing properties such as fit, moveability, walking effort and support to explain why they perceived one boot as more comfortable than another. We therefore recommend that underground coal mining work boots should be designed to incorporate different flexibility and stiffness between the shaft and sole of the boot to optimise foot movement and, in turn, walking efficiency.
... Both work boots also include a mandatory steel-cap to protect the workers' feet from undesirable external stimuli such as rocks, gravel and dirt and to satisfy minimum personal protective equipment standards (Marr & Quine, 1993). Combinations of these boot features and materials, while adhering to safety standards, result in structurally different boots in terms of fit and function, with differences evident in shaft stiffness, ankle support and sole flexibility (Dobson, Riddiford-Harland, Bell, & Steele, 2017b). In general, the gumboot has a more flexible shaft, less ankle support, a more flexible sole and looser fit compared to the leather lace-up boot (Dobson et al. 2017b;Dobson, Riddiford-Harland, Bell, & Steele, 2018b). ...
... Combinations of these boot features and materials, while adhering to safety standards, result in structurally different boots in terms of fit and function, with differences evident in shaft stiffness, ankle support and sole flexibility (Dobson, Riddiford-Harland, Bell, & Steele, 2017b). In general, the gumboot has a more flexible shaft, less ankle support, a more flexible sole and looser fit compared to the leather lace-up boot (Dobson et al. 2017b;Dobson, Riddiford-Harland, Bell, & Steele, 2018b). The effects of structural differences in these boot design features on loading of the plantar surface of underground coal miners' feet are unknown. ...
Article
Full-text available
This study investigated the effects of wearing two standard underground coal mining work boots (a gumboot and a leather lace-up boot) on plantar pressures when participants walked across a simulated underground coal mine surface. In-shoe plantar pressures were recorded as 20 male participants walked at a self-selected pace across a hard dirt surface while wearing each boot type. Walking in a gumboot, compared to a leather lace-up boot, resulted in increased plantar pressures and forces, particularly under the heel and forefoot areas. Increased plantar pressures and forces over a long time period is not only a risk factor for painful foot conditions, such as ulcers but also overuse injuries such as stress fractures. The leather lace-up boot might be a better safety footwear option for underground coal miners working under these conditions.
... For instance, shoes may need protective or traction properties in order to allow the individual to safely and effectively carry out a required task [52]. One such is occupation is mining, which requires workers to stand for long periods of time on sometimes uneven, wet or unstable surfaces [53]. It was identified in a study of 208 mining workers that the boots worn by miners (both lace-up boots and gum boots) were significantly narrower than the foot but also significantly longer than the recommended 10-20 mm clearance [24]. ...
... These findings could indicate an attempt by miners to select shoes of appropriate width by wearing excessively long shoes. This in turn may contribute to the high prevalence of foot pain reported in this population [53]. ...
Article
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Background Correct footwear fitting is acknowledged as being vitally important, as incorrectly fitted footwear has been linked to foot pathology. The aim of this narrative review was to determine the prevalence of incorrectly fitted footwear and to examine the association between incorrectly fitted footwear, foot pain and foot disorders. Methods A database search of Ovid MEDLINE and CINAHL yielded 1,681 citations for title and abstract review. Eighteen articles were included. Findings were summarised under the categories of (i) children, (ii) adults, (ii) older people, (iii) people with diabetes and (iii) occupation- or activity-specific footwear. Differences in footwear fitting between sexes were also explored. Results Between 63 and 72% of participants were wearing shoes that did not accommodate either width or length dimensions of their feet. There was also evidence that incorrect footwear fitting was associated with foot pain and foot disorders such as lesser toe deformity, corns and calluses. Specific participant groups, such as children with Down syndrome and older people and people with diabetes were more likely to wear shoes that were too narrow (between 46 and 81%). Conclusion A large proportion of the population wear incorrectly sized footwear, which is associated with foot pain and foot disorders. Greater emphasis should be placed on both footwear fitting education and the provision of an appropriately large selection of shoes that can accommodate the variation in foot morphology among the population, particularly in relation to foot width.
... Walking often constitutes a large component of the day-to-day activity in occupations that require safety work boots (Marr, 1999;Smith et al., 1999;Dobson et al., 2017). In such occupations it is imperative that an individual's work boots meet the demands placed on their lower limb while walking and when performing other working tasks. ...
... Lower limb injuries are prevalent in occupations that involve prolonged walking (WorkCover, 2010). In underground coal mining, an industry where workers spend an average of 8 h walking per shift (Dobson et al., 2017), 700 serious lower limb injuries were reported annually. Of these serious lower limb injuries, ankle injuries alone contributed to a median workers compensation cost of $5800 and 4.4 weeks off work (Safe Work Australia 2016, personal communication, 5 September). ...
Article
Safety boots are compulsory in many occupations to protect the feet of workers from undesirable external stimuli, particularly in harsh work environments. The unique environmental conditions and varying tasks performed in different occupations necessitate a variety of boot designs to match each worker's occupational safety and functional requirements. Unfortunately, safety boots are often designed more for occupational safety at the expense of functionality and comfort. In fact, there is a paucity of published research investigating the influence that specific variations in work boot design have on fundamental tasks common to many occupations, such as walking. This literature review aimed to collate and examine what is currently known about the influence of boot design on walking in order to identify gaps in the literature and develop evidence-based recommendations upon which to design future research studies investigating work boot design.
... Interestingly, all military studies in the present review investigated body armour [5,14,[19][20][21] and all uniforms were specific to firefighting [12], while gloves were widely assessed in a healthcare context (vinyl exam gloves [30,34] or latex surgical gloves) [25,30]; for manufacturing and assembly (commercially available work gloves) [32]; and within the aerospace industry (for integration with spacesuits) [28,29]. No studies investigating boots [64,65] or protective eyewear [66,67] met the inclusion criteria for the present study, primarily due to not assessing fit [65,[68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][77][78][79][80][81][82][83][84][85] or not evaluating the effect of fit on at least one measure of performance (often studies instead measured pain or injury prevalence) [67,[86][87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97][98][99]. As such, there is a paucity of published literature on the extent to which these PPE items impact occupational performance, as well as the role of PPE fit. ...
Article
Full-text available
Objective To explore the effect of personal protective equipment (PPE) fit on functional performance across a range of occupational domains. Background PPE introduces an ergonomic, human systems integration, and mass burden to the wearer, and these factors are thought to be amplified if PPE is ill-fitting. However, few studies have considered the role of fit (static, dynamic, and cognitive) when evaluating PPE-related performance detriments in occupational settings. Method A systematic literature review was conducted to identify relevant studies, which were then critically appraised based on methodological quality and collated to compare key findings and present evidence-based recommendations for future research directions across a range of occupational domains. Results 16 published studies met the inclusion criteria, 88% of which found that the fit of PPE had a statistically significant effect on occupational performance. Poorly sized PPE resulted in slower or increased reaction time; decreased range of motion or mobility; decreased endurance or tolerance; decreased pulmonary function; and altered muscle activation. Limited research met the inclusion criteria and those that did had risks of bias in methodology quality. Conclusion Future research evaluating the effect of PPE on performance in occupational settings should aim to recruit a more representative population; consider sex as a covariate; quantify and evaluate PPE fit and performance when integrated with all relevant equipment items; include outcome measures related to all three categories of fit (static, dynamic, cognitive); and assess performance of operationally relevant tasks.
... Thus, designing some new types of boots seems to be beneficial choice in terms of rectifying these adverse effects on body, however, there are still some negative reports about limb and lower back hurts despite wearing these new boots. Further research should focus on modifying boot design factors through recognizing the effect of each design feature on offering a different kind of relief and removing ache from a specific area of foot to create the best alternative work foot-wearing for miners [36,37]. ...
Conference Paper
Mining is one of the largest and most hazardous industries in the world. This research aims to review the current research in the field of occupational health and safety in mining sector to categorize health-related risk factors found by scholars and investigate how workers' exposures to these risk factors have been managed up to present. Occupational health-related risk factors are identified and discussed under six sectors of the investigated physiological disorders. This can lighten future research paths for presenting preventive measures which helps improve physiological and ergonomic health and safety management in mining projects.
... Many studies have explored the relationship between safety footwear and injuries with the majority focusing on; high cut lace up safety boots, military boots, gum boots, sports shoes [16] and surgical clogs [31]. These studies have identified many relationships, for example, gum boots are associated more with knee and heel pain while high cut lace up safety boots were associated with more leg and ankle pain [39]. Gum boots are associated with more force and contact area in the heel compared to the high cut lace up safety boots [40]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background The Australian wine industry is a valuable part of the wider Australian economy worth approximately A$45 billion annually and employs 163,790 people either full time or part time. Australian agricultural industries are amongst the nation’s most dangerous workplaces with joint, ligament, muscle and tendon injuries being commonplace along with wounds, lacerations and musculoskeletal diseases. It is therefore important to try and minimise the risk of injuries to workers. The aims of this study were to (1) identify whether lower limb problems occur in the Australian wine industry and (2) identify the types of safety footwear worn. Methods Participants were recruited from the Australian wine industry. The study was a cross-sectional anonymous survey of 82 questions with n = 207 respondents. Questions related to job role performed, types of lower limb problems experienced, level of pain, restriction of activities, types of footwear worn, general health and physical health. Results The main working roles were winery (73.4%), vineyard (52.2%), laboratory (39.6%), cellar door (32.4%) and office (8.2%), with 63.3% of participants working in more than one role. Lower back pain was the most commonly reported problem at 56% followed by foot pain (36.7%), knee pain (24.6%), leg pain (21.3%), ankle pain (17.9%), hip pain (15.5%), toe pain (13%) and heel pain (11.1%). The most popular footwear used by participants were elastic sided safety boots, followed by high cut lace up safety boots with side zip. Overall, although the pain experienced was moderate, it did not impact the workers ability to perform their duties and the majority self-reported as being in very good general and physical health. Conclusion To date no data have been published on the types of lower limb problems or the types of safety footwear worn in the Australian wine industry. This study is the first to demonstrate that elastic sided safety boots were the most popular amongst respondents and that lower limb problems occur with workers. Therefore, further research into the safety footwear used in the Australian wine industry is needed to better support workers health while working in their varied roles and conditions.
... In addition to the current research team's findings on the biomechanical impact of work boots, another team of researchers from the University of Wollongong, Australia have addressed the biomechanical and psychological impact of mining work boots [18][19][20][21][22][23]. Additionally, similar to the current study, previous research has used both postural sway and EMG measures to compare footwear types in standing tasks (barefoot, stable control shoes, and unstable shoes) [24]. ...
Article
Full-text available
Background: Occupational footwear and a prolonged duration of walking have been previously reported to play a role in maintaining postural stability. The purpose of this paper was to analyze the impact of three types of occupational footwear: the steel-toed work boot (ST), the tactical work boot (TB), and the low-top work shoe (LT) on previously unreported lower extremity muscle activity during postural stability tasks. Methods: Electromyography (EMG) muscle activity was measured from four lower extremity muscles (vastus medialis (VM), medial hamstrings (MH), tibialis anterior (TA), and medial gastrocnemius (MG) during maximal voluntary isometric contractions (MVIC) and during a sensory organization test (SOT) every 30 min over a 4 h simulated workload while wearing ST, TB, and LT footwear. The mean MVIC and the mean and percentage MVIC during each SOT condition from each muscle was analyzed individually using a repeated measures ANOVA at an alpha level of 0.05. Results: Significant differences (p < 0.05) were found for maximal exertions, but this was limited to only the time main effect. No significant differences existed for EMG measures during the SOT. Conclusion: The findings suggest that occupational footwear type does not influence lower extremity muscle activity during both MVIC and SOT. Significantly lower muscle activity during maximal exertions over the course of the 4 h workload was evident, which can be attributed to localized muscular fatigue, but this was not sufficient to impact muscle activity during postural stability tasks.
... Many studies have explored the relationship between safety footwear and injuries with the majority focusing on; high cut lace up safety boots, military boots, gum boots, sports shoes [10] and surgical clogs [23]. These studies have identi ed many relationships, for example, gum boots are associated more with knee and heel pain while high cut lace up safety boots were associated with more leg and ankle pain [32]. Gum boots are associated with more force and contact area in the heel compared to the high cut lace up safety boots [33]. ...
Preprint
Full-text available
Background: The Australian wine industry is a valuable part of the wider Australian economy worth approximately AUD$45billion annually and employs 163,790 people either full time or part time. Australian agricultural industries are amongst the nation’s most dangerous workplaces with joint, ligament, muscle and tendon injuries being commonplace along with wounds, lacerations and musculoskeletal diseases. It is therefore important to try and minimise the risk of injuries to workers as much as possible. The aims of this study were to (1) identify the types of lower limb problems that occur in the Australian wine industry and (2) identify the types of safety footwear used. Methods: Participants were recruited from the Australian wine industry. The study was a cross sectional anonymous survey of 82 questions with n=207 respondents. Questions related to job role performed, types of lower limb problems experienced, level of pain, restriction of activities, types of footwear worn, general health and physical health. Results: The main working roles were 73.4% winery, 52.2% vineyard, 39.6% laboratory, 32.4% cellar door and 8.2% office, with 63.3% of participants working in more than one role. Lower back pain was the most commonly reported problem at 56% followed by foot pain 36.7%, knee pain 24.6 %, leg pain 21.3%, ankle pain 17.9%, hip pain 15.5%, toe pain 13% and heel pain 11.1%. The most popular footwear used by participants was the elastic sided safety boot, followed by a high cut lace up safety boot with side zip. Overall, although the pain experienced was moderate to severe, it did not impact the workers ability to perform their duties and the majority self-reported as being in very good general and physical health. Conclusion: To date no data has been published on the frequency of lower limb problems or the types of safety footwear worn in the Australian wine industry. This study demonstrated that elastic sided safety boots were the most popular amongst respondents and with that, certain lower limb problems can occur. Therefore, further research into the safety footwear used is needed to better support workers health while working in varied roles and conditions.
... erefore, alleviating the work stress response of miners and improving the safety behavior of them are the key to ensuring the normal operation of coal-mine safety production. At present, most scholars explore the generating mechanism of the unsafe behavior of miners, and results indicate that the individual characteristics (safety awareness, knowledge and skills, safety attitude, physical quality, and experience) of miners [7][8][9] and environmental factors [10][11][12] (working environment, equipment environment, social environment, family environment, etc.) have significant impact on the miners' behavioral decisions, which will in turn affect the safety production of coal mining enterprises. e second research stream of coal-mine safety production enhancement focuses on the organizational factors [13][14][15]. ...
Article
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In view of the particularity and high risk of coal mining industry, the decision-making behavior of multiple agents inside the coal-mine enterprise plays a very important role in ensuring the safety and sustainable development of coal mining industry. The existing literature studies on coal-mine safety production focus mainly on statically analyzing the game among the external entities such as the government, the enterprises themselves, and the employees inside the enterprise from a macro perspective,are short of research on revealing the dynamic interactions among the actors directly involved in the coal-mine accidents and also on proposals for effective interactions that will lead to improved safety outcomes. Therefore, this paper explores the use of evolutionary game theory to describe the interactions among the stakeholders in China’s coal-mine safety production system, which includes the organization, the first-line miners, and the first-line managers. Moreover, the paper also explores dynamic simulations of the evolutionary game model to analyze the stability of stakeholder interactions and to identify equilibrium solutions. The simulation results show that when certain conditions are met, the decision-making behavior of the organization, miners, and managers can evolve into the unique ideal steady state (1, 1, 1). In addition, the strategy portfolio with a relatively high initial proportion of three agents converges more quickly to an ideal state than a relatively low strategy portfolio. Moreover, the stable state and equilibrium values are not affected by the initial value changes. Finally, we find that the combination of positive incentive policies and strict penalties policies can make the evolutionary game system converge to desired stability faster. The application of the evolutionary game and numerical simulation when simulating the multiplayer game process of coal-mine safety production is an effective way, which provides a more effective solution to the safety and sustainable development of coal mining industry.
... Unlike other types of footwear, gumboots have a closed surface, and lack laces that could adjust the fit; consequently, ill-fitting dimensions may cause foot sores and blisters, in addition to causing walking difficulty [3]. The comfort parameters of boot wearing include impact force and plantar pressure [4,5]. ...
Article
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Gumboots are used in agriculture in order to protect the feet from danger. However, some farmers do not wear, as they feel uncomfortable. In this study, Force Sensing Resistors (FSR) sensor was used as a measuring sensor, based on its better performance in terms of high repeatability and sensitivity. Verification of the sensor application in actual conditions was conducted with 4 different types of gumboot used in agricultural work. The peak pressures when walking in muddy soil were higher on average than when walking on a hard concrete surface. Gumboot types I and IV generated lower peak pressures than the other gumboots when walking on the hard concrete surface. On the other hand, gumboot types II and III resulted in the lowest and second lowest plantar pressure, respectively, while walking in muddy soil. The high hardness fraction on the heel, compared to other positions, in boot types II and III may have helped to reduce the average peak pressure during walking in muddy soil.
... The age, floor surface types and footwear types are important factors in human sensing related tasks such as Coefficient of friction standard measurements [1,2], forensic analyzing [3], gait analysis [2,4,5], authentication by gait analysis [5], Human factors and ergonomic [6,7], healthcare monitoring system [8,9], elderly health monitoring [10], fall detection [11], marketing, shoe design and fashion [12], users' personality traits [13], human activity recognition [14,15,16]. These factors can affect behavior and their lifestyles. ...
Conference Paper
Full-text available
In this paper, we use smartphone motion sensors and user basic activities as new source of information to detect and measure some dynamic information of user such as age group, footwear type and the floor surface types, which are important information in human sensing tasks and applications for healthcare, marketing, recommender system and etc. A random forest classifier was used to classify 262 features extracted from smart phone accelerometer and gyroscope sensors’ data. Empirical evaluation was performed on a large-scale dataset containing 510 subjects and more than 111470 activities files. The results show that we can achieve accuracies of more than 85%, 92.5% and 95% for the detection of user’s age, footwear types and floor surface type respectively. 1.
... Safety shoes have a wide variety of designs and each type of safety shoes manufactured has its own advantages and disadvantages. In addition, the design of appropriate safety shoes for various industrial sectors, professions, and work positions need to meet all requirements with respect to ergonomic and protective properties, durability, hygiene, comfort for use and functionality to avoid the occurrence of foot pain and injury in the workplace (Dobson et al. 2017;Koradecka, 2012). On average, the majority of employees working in the manufacturing industries spent a total of eight hours per day or more. ...
Article
Fit of fire boots is a crucial factor in the safety and performance of firefighters on the hostile fireground. Firefighters have reported that ill-fitting fire boots restrict their lower body movement and sometimes cause very dangerous situations by falling off behind the wearer. By using computed tomography (CT), this study demonstrated the potential to quantify and visualize the fit of fire boots, which previously relied on subjective feedback from the wearers. The high-resolution 3D models of two fire boot products allowed a detailed observation and measurement of the internal space of the boots. Also, the boot's internal dimension was compared to the foot measurement of local firefighters, showing the significant differences between the two boots. Lastly, simulation wrapping the 3D scanned foot with the boot revealed large void spaces around the toe box and ankle, as well as the narrower ball width of the boot than the foot.
Article
With the increasing professionalisation of men's netball and the high prevalence of foot-related problems and pain, manufacturers must develop shoes with the correct ergonomic design to meet the unique needs of male netball players. This study aimed to determine what factors men consider when selecting a netball-specific shoe and what design features they want in an ideal netball-specific shoe. 279 amateur, sub-elite and elite male netball players completed a 38-question online survey about their footwear habits and preferences. Support was the most influential factor when men selected a netball-specific shoe. A wider toe-box, more durable upper and outsole, and added cushioning and support in the midsole and insole were preferred fit, form and function features for an ideal netball-specific shoe. We recommend that manufacturers develop a range of netball-specific shoes based on the foot dimensions, playing demands and preferences of male netball players to meet men's fit and functionality requirements.
Article
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Recently, there has been a growing interest in gait retraining to alter the gait parameters of different populations. In these gait retraining, peak plantar pressure (PPP) was considered as an important parameter of the foot biomechanics. It has been found that high PPP correlates to the common foot deformities including pes planus/cavus. However, previous studies utilized excessive electronics in gait retraining, which is challenging to implement daily especially when device cleaning, flexibility and portability are considered. Therefore, this study investigated feasibility of a novel unpowered gait retraining for reducing high PPP. Twelve potential participants identified for investigation through a baseline PPP evaluation with Novel Pedar-x system. Participants received a single session for the gait retraining with pebbles in the form of rigid spherical inserts (RSI) placed in locations of high PPP inside the deformable insole. This provides tactile cues alerting the participant to alter their gait to reduce excess PPP. The PPP values were tracked in weekly follow-up sessions for 6 weeks. The results demonstrated that participants responded to RSI altering their gait to reduce PPP and maximum force by 14% and 10.5% after six weeks respectively. This study is valuable for physicians in reducing PPP when non-electronics are required.
Article
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Background: Uphill walking is biomechanically stressful. Changes in plantar pressure, is one of the important predictors of this stress and increased risk of foot injuries. It has been reported that civilians as well as different occupational workers have to walk over uphill gradient with footwear which may cause changes in plantar pressure. Till date published data on plantar pressure is not available of Indian population during shod walking with uphill gradients. Aims and Objective: The present study was aimed to generation of data base on plantar pressure and find out the effect of shod walking (wearing occupational boot) on plantar pressure at different uphill gradients. Materials and Methods: Twenty healthy male participated in this study. Plantar pressure was recorded using the pressure measurement system during walking at 4 km/hr speed on treadmill at level and different uphill gradients. Results: It was observed that the PP at all the five regions of both right and left foot (Forefoot, Mid-foot, Medial, Lateral, Heel and Overall) increased gradually along with the increase in gradients. There was significant increase of 8.94%, 9.93%, 18.22%, 16.06%, 10.27%, 12.92% respectively at left forefoot, mid-foot, heel, medial, lateral and overall regions at 10% gradient compared to level walking. Similarly, in right foot the increase was observed 8.20%, 10.82%, 14.28%, 13.75%, 8.27%, 10.88% in respective foot regions compared to level walking. Conclusion: Observations of the present study stated that with increasing gradient plantar pressure at various foot regions increased in both feet in comparison to level walking, maximum plantar pressure observed in heel region in both feet in comparison to other studied regions. This data will be considered as normal planter pressure value of adults at level and uphill gradients shod walking and may be utilized for prognosis of foot disorders and efficacy of treatment modalities of population comparable with studied individuals (for similar age, height and weight).
Article
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a significant cause of morbidity among miners. There is an increasing number of women in the mining industry and the differences in their risk for COPD compared to men miners are not understood. Our objective is to compare the odds for COPD between male and female miners. Using cross-sectional data from the Mining Dust in the United States (MiDUS) Cohort, that included New Mexico miners between 1989 and 2018, we compared the odds for airflow obstruction or chronic bronchitis between women and men. There were 299 women in this diverse cohort of 7,464 miners. Compared to men, female miners reported lower cumulative smoking but higher prevalence of current smoking. Multivariable analysis showed that women miners had significantly lower odds for having airflow obstruction (OR 0.40; 95% CI (0.26, 0.6)) and chronic bronchitis (OR 0.31, 95% CI (0.19, 0.53)) than men. Future studies need to determine whether this sex difference is explained by residual confounders or true biological difference.
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Acceptable footwear fit, particularly width, is subjective and vaguely quantified. Proper shoe fit is important because it affects both comfort and the potential to prevent injury. Although mismatches between the feet of underground coal miners and their internal boot dimensions are known, no research has been undertaken to determine the impact of these mismatches on worker perceptions of fit, comfort and pain. This study aimed to quantitatively assess mining work boot fit relative to underground coal miners' subjectively rated work boot fit and comfort, reported foot problems, lower limb pain and lower back pain in order to develop evidence-based work boot fit recommendations. Traditional footwear fitting methods based predominantly on foot length are insufficient for underground coal mining-specific footwear. Instead, fit at the heel, instep and forefoot must be considered when fitting underground coal mining work boots, in conjunction with the traditional length measurement.Practitioner summary: Underground coal miners report their work boots fit but are uncomfortable. This study assessed actual fit relative to perceived fit, comfort, foot problems, lower limb pain and lower back pain of 197 miners. Fit at the heel, instep and forefoot must be considered when fitting mining work boots.
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This study aimed to investigate the effects of wearing two standard underground coal mining work boots (a gumboot and a leather lace-up boot) on lower limb muscle activity when participants walked across simulated underground coal mining surfaces. Quadriceps (rectus femoris, vastus medialis, vastus lateralis) and hamstring (biceps femoris, semitendinosus) muscle activity were recorded as twenty male participants walked at a self-selected pace around a circuit while wearing each boot type. The circuit consisted of level, inclined and declined surfaces composed of rocky gravel and hard dirt. Walking in a leather lace-up boot, compared to a gumboot, resulted in increased vastus lateralis and increased biceps femoris muscle activity when walking on sloped surfaces. Increased muscle activity appears to be acting as a slip and/or trip prevention strategy in response to challenging surfaces and changing boot features. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.
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This is a two-volume report on human user testing of military and commercially available footwear. Volume I, NATICK/TR-96/011, contains the body of the report, and references; Volume II, NATICK/TR-96/012, contains the appendices comprised principally of summary statistics. The military footwear tested consisted of the black leather combat boot and the hot weather boot; the commercial items were a basketball shoe, cross trainer, hiking boot and work boot. Men and women performed the following activities in a laboratory setting while wearing each footwear type: walking, marching, running, jumping from heights and running an agility course. The data acquired included ground reaction forces, in-shoe pressures, sagittal plane kinematics, rearfoot movement, leg muscle activity, metabolic rate, and heart rate. The results indicated that the magnitudes of vertical ground reaction forces were lowest with the basketball shoe and the cross trainer. The military and the work boots were associated with lowest amounts of ankle dorsiflexion and the greatest degrees of flexion at the metatarsal-phalangeal joints. The fastest times to completion of the agility course were achieved with the basketball shoe and the cross trainer. The third report in this series is 'Biomechanical Analysis of Military Boots: Phase III Recommendations for Design of Future Military Boots,' NATICK/TR-96-0l3. Phase I is 'Biomechanical Analysis of Military Boots: Materials Testing of Military and Commercial Footwear,' NATICK/TR-93/006.
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A proof of concept study to investigate the effect of shoe lacing on the plantar pressure distribution and in-shoe displacement of the foot during walking. Three randomized shoe-lacing conditions, which differed in lacing tightness (comfortable, loosened, and completely loose) were investigated in 20 healthy adults. On a 10-m walking test, plantar pressures were assessed with the Pedar(®)-X in-shoe measurement system. Perceived in-shoe displacement was scored on a numerical rating scale. With respect to the pressure time integral statistically significant effects were found in the hallux, toes 2-5, first metatarsal head, and lateral midfoot regions. Post hoc comparison showed for the hallux: mean increase of 45.5 kPa s (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.2-87.8 kPa s), and toes 2-5: mean increase of 23.5 kPa s (95% CI: 0.1-46.9 kPa s) between comfortably secured and completely loosened laces; lateral midfoot: mean decrease of -18.1 kPa s (95% CI: -31.5 to -4.8 kPa s) between comfortably secured and loosened laces. No significant effect was found on peak pressure, and average pressure. Participants reported a significant increase in heel slipping and in slipping back and forth of the foot as the laces were loosened. Looser lacing techniques resulted in small peak and average plantar pressure changes (less than 3% and 6.5% respectively). Pressure time integral under the hallux and toes 2-5 increased 16.3% and 14.5% respectively, and perceived in-shoe displacement increased as compared to comfortably secured laces. These results suggest that diabetes patients should be advised to comfortably tighten their shoelaces during the whole day.
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The study evaluated the effects of shoe style on workers' instability during walking at elevation. Twenty-four construction workers performed walking tasks on roof planks in a surround-screen virtual reality system, which simulated a residential roof environment. Three common athletic and three work shoe styles were tested on wide, narrow and tilted planks on a simulated roof and on an unrestricted surface at simulated ground. Dependent variables included lateral angular velocities of the trunk and the rear foot, as well as the workers' rated perceptions of instability. The results demonstrated that shoe style significantly affected workers walking instability at elevated work environments. The results highlighted two major shoe-design pathways for improving walking balance at elevation: enhancing rear foot motion control; and improving ankle proprioception. This study also outlined some of the challenges in optimal shoe selection and specific shoe-design needs for improved walking stability during roof work. The study adds to the knowledge in the area of balance control, by emphasising the role of footwear as a critical human-support surface interface during work on narrow surfaces at height. The results can be used for footwear selection and improvements to reduce risk of falls from elevation.
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We studied the extent to which automatic postural actions in standing human subjects are organized by a limited repertoire of central motor programs. Subjects stood on support surfaces of various lengths, which forced them to adopt different postural movement strategies to compensate for the same external perturbations. We assessed whether a continuum or a limited set of muscle activation patterns was used to produce different movement patterns and the extent to which movement patterns were influenced by prior experience. Exposing subjects standing on a normal support surface to brief forward and backward horizontal surface perturbations elicited relatively stereotyped patterns of leg and trunk muscle activation with 73- to 110-ms latencies. Activity began in the ankle joint muscles and then radiated in sequence to thigh and then trunk muscles on the same dorsal or ventral aspect of the body. This activation pattern exerted compensatory torques about the ankle joints, which restored equilibrium by moving the body center of mass forward or backward. This pattern has been termed the ankle strategy because it restores equilibrium by moving the body primarily around the ankle joints. To successfully maintain balance while standing on a support surface short in relation to foot length, subjects activated leg and trunk muscles at similar latencies but organized the activity differently. The trunk and thigh muscles antagonistic to those used in the ankle strategy were activated in the opposite proximal-to-distal sequence, whereas the ankle muscles were generally unresponsive. This activation pattern produced a compensatory horizontal shear force against the support surface but little, if any, ankle torque. This pattern has been termed the hip strategy, because the resulting motion is focused primarily about the hip joints. Exposing subjects to horizontal surface perturbations while standing on support surfaces intermediate in length between the shortest and longest elicited more complex postural movements and associated muscle activation patterns that resembled ankle and hip strategies combined in different temporal relations. These complex postural movements were executed with combinations of torque and horizontal shear forces and motions of ankle and hip joints. During the first 5-20 practice trials immediately following changes from one support surface length to another, response latencies were unchanged. The activation patterns, however, were complex and resembled the patterns observed during well-practiced stance on surfaces of intermediate lengths.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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In the study, the influence of different boot prototype stiffness on gait kinematics and kinetics was investigated. The boot stiffness was determined by force-deformation measurement while pressing the foot model inserted into the boot by a custom-made robot. Gait analysis was carried out in nine neurologically intact subjects during walking while wearing two different boots with and without carrying a backpack, and differences were statistically tested using ANOVA. The results indicated distinctions in the boot shaft and vamp stiffness. The boot with a softer boot shaft enabled a wider range of motion in the ankle joint leading to more power generation in the ankle joint during the push-off, increased step length and gait velocity. The backpack mostly influenced the pelvis and trunk kinematics. The study has demonstrated the influence of boot shaft stiffness on biomechanical gait parameters and its importance for push-off that manufacturers should take into consideration when optimizing the footwear performance.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between low back pain and lower extremity pain in a group of factory workers and determine the effect of cushioning insoles on low back pain and lower extremity pain. Data were gathered via questionnaire from 306 employees of an aircraft engine assembly factory. A subset of 40 workers who had reported significant levels of back or lower extremity pain were sampled for four consecutive 12-hour shifts wearing their normal footwear and then a week later for four consecutive shifts wearing cushioning insoles. High levels of low back pain and lower extremity pain were reported by workers on the plant floor, but low back pain was poorly correlated to lower extremity pain (r = 0.371). The effect of insoles on the subset of 40 workers was to lower low back pain by 38%, foot pain by 37%, and knee pain by 38% (p < .001). The reduction in low back pain, however, was not correlated to the reduction in lower extremity pain; workers reporting a decrease in low back pain differed from those reporting less lower extremity pain.
Conference Paper
Study Design: Cross-sectional repeated-measures design. Objective: Determine the effects of circumferential ankle pressure (CAP) intervention on proprioceptive acuity, ankle stiffness, and postural stability. Background: The application of CAP using braces, taping, and adaptive shoes or military boots is widely used to address chronic ankle instability (CAI). An underlying assumption is that the CAP intervention might improve ankle stability through increased proprioceptive acuity and stiffness in the ankle. Method and Measures: A convenience sample of 10 subjects was recruited from the local university community and categorized according to proprioceptive acuity (high, low) and ankle stability (normal, CAI). Proprioceptive acuity was measured when blindfolded subjects were asked to accurately reproduce a self-selected target ankle position before and after the application of CAP. Proprioceptive acuity was determined in 5 different ankle joint position sense tests: neutral, inversion, eversion, plantar flexion, and dorsiflexion. Joint position angles were recorded electromechanically using a potentiometer. Passive ankle stiffness was computed from the ratio of applied static moment versus angular displacement. Active ankle stiffness was determined from biomechanical analyses of ankle motion following a mediolateral perturbation. Postural stability was quantified from the center of pressure displacement in the mediolateral and the anteroposterior directions in unipedal stance. All measurements were recorded with and without CAP applied by a pediatric blood pressure cuff. Data were analyzed using a separate mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each dependent variable. Post hoc comparison using Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) test was performed if significant interactions were obtained. Significance level was set at P<.05 for all analyses. Results: Significant group (high versus low proprioceptive acuity) x CAP interactions were identified for postural stability. Passive ankle stiffness was not increased by an application of CAP. Active ankle stiffness was significantly different between the high and low proprioceptive acuity groups and was not affected by an application of CAP. Significant group (normal versus CAI) x CAP interactions were observed for mediolateral center-of-pressure displacement with a main effect of group on neutral joint position sense. Conclusions: Application of CAP increased proprioceptive acuity and demonstrated trends toward increased active stiffness in the ankle, hence improved postural stability. The effects tend to be limited to individuals with low proprioceptive acuity.
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The purpose of this review was to inform all medical health care professionals about cuboid syndrome, which has been described as difficult to recognize and is commonly misdiagnosed, by explaining the etiology of this syndrome, its clinical diagnosis in relation to differential diagnoses, commonly administered treatment techniques, and patient outcomes. A comprehensive review of the relevant literature was conducted with MEDLINE, EBSCO, and PubMed (1960 - Present) using the key words cuboid, cuboid syndrome, foot anatomy, tarsal bones, manual therapy, and manipulation. Medical professionals must be aware that any lateral foot and ankle pain may be the result of cuboid syndrome. Once properly diagnosed, cuboid syndrome responds exceptionally well to conservative treatment involving specific cuboid manipulation techniques. Other methods of conservative treatment including therapeutic modalities, therapeutic exercises, padding, and low dye taping techniques are used as adjuncts in the treatment of this syndrome. Immediately after the manipulation is performed, the patient may note a decrease or a complete cessation of their symptoms. Occasionally, if the patient has had symptoms for a longer duration, several manipulations may be warranted throughout the course of time. Due to the fact radiographic imaging is of little value, the diagnosis is largely based on the patient's history and a collection of signs and symptoms associated with the condition. Additionally, an understanding of the etiology behind this syndrome is essential, aiding the clinician in the diagnosis and treatment of this syndrome. After the correct diagnosis is made and a proper treatment regimen is utilized, the prognosis is excellent.
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The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between low back pain and lower extremity pain in a group of factory workers and determine the effect of cushioning insoles on low back pain and lower extremity pain. Data were gathered via questionnaire from 306 employees of an aircraft engine assembly factory. A subset of 40 workers who had reported significant levels of back or lower extremity pain were sampled for four consecutive 12-hour shifts wearing their normal footwear and then a week later for four consecutive shifts wearing cushioning insoles. High levels of low back pain and lower extremity pain were reported by workers on the plant floor, but low back pain was poorly correlated to lower extremity pain (r = 0.371). The effect of insoles on the subset of 40 workers was to lower low back pain by 38%, foot pain by 37%, and knee pain by 38% (p < .001). The reduction in low back pain, however, was not correlated to the reduction in lower extremity pain; workers reporting a decrease in low back pain differed from those reporting less lower extremity pain. [Workplace Health Saf].
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The risk of suffering disorders of the skin and underlying tissue in the lower extremities is one of the few adverse effects of a physically active lifestyle. Engagement in a physically challenging sport, demanding and repetitive physical activity or high-impact exercising has particularly been linked to hyperkeratotic lesions such as corns and calluses. Corn and callus formation is the skin's natural attempt to compensate for prolonged or excessive pressure, friction and other forms of local irritation by increasing its thickness at sites of excessive mechanical stress. Initially this thickening of the skin is helpful, but over time it builds up and becomes a source of morbidity. Increased mass of the lesion results in increased pressure and discomfort. Thus, a vicious cycle develops which is only broken by decreasing the size of the hyperkeratotic growth and relieving or eliminating pressure on the affected area of the skin. Failure to treat these conditions appropriately and adequately may contribute to the development of serious and disabling skin pathology. This paper considers the incidence of corns and calluses pertaining to athletes’ feet, describes their clinical characteristics, outlines the underlying causes or etiology of their formation, provides an overview of the pathogenetic mechanism responsible for their development and addresses certain diagnostic procedures used to identify them. The therapeutic means available for the treatment of corns and calluses along with their potential complications are further presented and discussed.
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Wearing inappropriate shoes can cause biomechanical imbalance, foot problems, and pain and induce falls. To verify the prevalence of wearing incorrectly sized shoes and the relationship between incorrectly sized shoes and foot dimensions, pain, and diabetes among older adults. A cross-sectional study. 399 older adults (227 women and 172 men) age 60 to 90 y. The participants were asked about the presence of diabetes, pain in the lower limbs and back, and pain when wearing shoes. Foot evaluations comprised the variables of width, perimeter, height, length, first metatarsophalangeal angle, the Arch Index, and the Foot Posture Index. The data analysis was performed using a 2-sample t test and chi-square test. The percentage of the participants wearing shoe sizes bigger than their foot length was 48.5% for the women and 69.2% for the men. Only 1 man was wearing a shoe size smaller than his foot length. The older adults wearing the incorrect shoe size presented larger values for foot width, perimeter, and height than those wearing the correct size, but there were no significant differences between the groups with respect to the Arch Index and the Foot Posture Index. Incorrectly sized shoes were associated with ankle pain in women but not with diabetes. Men were more likely to wear incorrectly fitting shoes. The use of correctly sized shoes was associated with back pain in women. The use of incorrectly sized shoes was highly prevalent in the population studied and was associated with larger values for foot width, perimeter, and height and with ankle pain.
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Increased boot shaft stiffness may have a noticeable impact on the range of motion of the ankle joint. Therefore, the ability of the ankle joint to generate power for propulsion might be impaired. This might result in compensatory changes at the knee and hip joint. Besides, adaptability of the subtalar joint to uneven surface might be reduced, which could in turn affect stability. The aim of the study was therefore to investigate the influence of boot shaft stiffness on biomechanical gait parameters. Fifteen healthy young adults walked over coarse gravel wearing two different hiking boots that differed by 50% in passive shaft stiffness. Leg kinematics, kinetics and electromyography were measured. Gait velocity and indicators for stability were not different when walking with the hard and soft boot shaft over the gravel surface. However, the hard boot shaft decreased the ankle range of motion as well as the eccentric energy absorbed at the ankle joint. As a consequence, compensatory changes at the knee joint were observed. Co-contraction was increased, and greater eccentric energy was absorbed. Therefore, the efficiency of gait with hard boots might be decreased and joint loading at the knee might be increased, which might cause early fatigue of knee muscles during walking or hiking. The results of this study suggest that stiffness and blocking of joint motion at the ankle should not be equated with safety. A trade-off between lateral stiffness and free natural motion of the ankle joint complex might be preferable.
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Stabilization of the ankle joint is used as a deterrent to injury, however, insufficient or excessive ankle control can cause negative effects. This study determined the effects of systematic changes in ankle and subtalar joint stabilization on performance through an obstacle course. Data were collected on six subjects as they completed two test procedures. Ankle range of motion in the sagittal and frontal planes was determined using a modified Inman apparatus. Completion time through an obstacle course, set up on a basketball court, was used as a measure of performance. High-top basketball shoes were constructed with pockets which allowed strips of plastic (stiffeners) to be positioned just anterior and posterior to the medial and lateral malleoli. Four shoe conditions were used including the shoe with no stiffeners. Significant differences (P less than 0.05) in eversion, flexion, and inversion were found between the shoe conditions. A general trend of decreased range of motion with increased restriction was observed. Significant differences (P less than 0.05) in performance were found between the shoe conditions, with a general trend of increased times with increased restriction. These results indicate that systematic changes in the range of motion of the ankle and subtalar joints can measurably affect performance.
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In Australia workers in many industries are required to wear safety footwear (footwear incorporating a steel toe cap). An investigation of the problems reported by 321 workers (70 per cent male) employed in a broad range of work activities and required to wear safety footwear was conducted in 1990 and 1991. Respondents were interviewed by a professionally trained podiatrist using a structured questionnaire followed by a foot examination. An extremely high percentage (91 per cent) of subjects reported one or more foot problems (which were verified by the podiatrist), and most considered that the safety footwear either caused the problem or adversely affected an existing foot condition. The main shoe concerns reported were excessive heat (65 per cent of all respondents), inflexible soles (52 per cent), weight (48 per cent) and pressure from steel toe cap (47 per cent). Certain gender differences were identified. General recommendations are made.
Article
Ankle sprains are a common sports injury that can cause significant, chronic disability. Studies aimed at prevention through the use of footwear have focused on the biomechanical aspects of foot and ankle anatomy, proprioceptive input of the foot/ankle complex, external stresses applied to the joint, and shoe traction. These studies support the use of high top shoes for ankle sprain prevention because of their ability to limit extreme ranges of motion, provide additional proprioceptive input and decrease external joint stress. Despite this biomechanical evidence, clinical trials are inconclusive as to the clinical benefit of high top shoes in the prevention of ankle sprains. Further study is necessary to delineate the benefits of shoe designs for ankle sprain prevention.
Article
There is a significant risk of injury when undertaking physical activities. Abnormal biomechanics of the lower limb has been implicated as a causative factor for injury. Although there have been a large number of studies in this field, many lack consistency of definitions and methodology. A large number of these studies have been retrospective, and it is often impossible to identify the baseline population. The evidence suggests that limitation of range of ankle dorsiflexion, limitation of range of hip eversion, excessive joint laxity, leg length discrepancy, an excessively supinated or pronated foot, excessively high or low arches of the foot and a large Q-angle are risk factors for injury. On the other hand, there is little convincing evidence that an abnormal range of ankle plantar flexion, genu varum or valgum or undue muscle tightness may be potential risk factors. All of these biomechanical abnormalities need further evaluation as potential risk factors for injury. Any trials undertaken must endeavour to define and describe their methods fully, and ensure that their results are reproducible.
Article
Cross-sectional repeated-measures design. Determine the effects of circumferential ankle pressure (CAP) intervention on proprioceptive acuity, ankle stiffness, and postural stability. The application of CAP using braces, taping, and adaptive shoes or military boots is widely used to address chronic ankle instability (CAI). An underlying assumption is that the CAP intervention might improve ankle stability through increased proprioceptive acuity and stiffness in the ankle. METHOD AND MEASURES: A convenience sample of 10 subjects was recruited from the local university community and categorized according to proprioceptive acuity (high, low) and ankle stability (normal, CAI). Proprioceptive acuity was measured when blindfolded subjects were asked to accurately reproduce a self-selected target ankle position before and after the application of CAP. Proprioceptive acuity was determined in 5 different ankle joint position sense tests: neutral, inversion, eversion, plantar flexion, and dorsiflexion. Joint position angles were recorded electromechanically using a potentiometer. Passive ankle stiffness was computed from the ratio of applied static moment versus angular displacement. Active ankle stiffness was determined from biomechanical analyses of ankle motion following a mediolateral perturbation. Postural stability was quantified from the center of pressure displacement in the mediolateral and the anteroposterior directions in unipedal stance. All measurements were recorded with and without CAP applied by a pediatric blood pressure cuff. Data were analyzed using a separate mixed-model analysis of variance (ANOVA) for each dependent variable. Post hoc comparison using Tukey's honestly significant difference (HSD) test was performed if significant interactions were obtained. Significance level was set at P<.05 for all analyses. Significant group (high versus low proprioceptive acuity) x CAP interactions were identified for postural stability. Passive ankle stiffness was not increased by an application of CAP. Active ankle stiffness was significantly different between the high and low proprioceptive acuity groups and was not affected by an application of CAP. Significant group (normal versus CAI) x CAP interactions were observed for mediolateral center-of-pressure displacement with a main effect of group on neutral joint position sense. Application of CAP increased proprioceptive acuity and demonstrated trends toward increased active stiffness in the ankle, hence improved postural stability. The effects tend to be limited to individuals with low proprioceptive acuity.
Article
We hypothesized that, during gait, the perturbation caused by stepping on a 1.2-cm high protuberance with the medial forefoot would not only alter stance foot kinematics and kinetics, but also alter subsequent step location and timing, even to the point of causing a crossover step. Twelve healthy young women performed at least three flat surface and three perturbation trials while walking along a level walkway. To obstruct visual monitoring of their upcoming foot placement they used both hands to carry a large tray in front of their abdomen. Kinematic data from optoelectronic markers and force plate data were recorded at 50 and 100Hz, respectively. The results showed that the medial forefoot perturbation significantly decreased the net ankle eversion moment (p<0.001) and increased the maximum inversional foot acceleration (p=0.007). Step width (SW) and time (ST) of the post-perturbation recovery step were significantly decreased compared with normal steps (p=0.002 and 0.049, respectively). The maximum inversional foot acceleration correlated negatively with SW and ST of the recovery step (both p=0.001). Finally, four of 36 (12%) recovery steps were crossover steps. We conclude that a medial forefoot perturbation results in an increased inversional acceleration of the stance foot followed by a decrease in recovery SW and ST. In some cases, a medial forefoot perturbation can result in a crossover step, an extreme form of a narrow recovery step.
Article
The present study investigates the mechanisms underlying changes in postural strategy that occur to compensate for mechanical ankle joint restrictions induced by wearing ski-boots during postural exercises. Fourteen experienced skiers were asked to stand as still as possible in a stable (STA) posture and in 2 postures with instability in the medio/lateral and antero/posterior (ML and AP postures) direction. Postural tasks were performed with eyes open or closed and while wearing or not wearing ski-boots. The electromyographic (EMG) activity of representative lower limb muscles and positions of centre-of-foot pressure (COP) were recorded and analyzed. Our results illustrated enhanced postural performances with ski-boots in the STA posture, whereas postural performances remained unchanged when wearing ski-boots in the ML and AP postures. Analysis of COP sways in the frequency domain did not illustrate any modification in the contribution of different neuronal loops when the study subjects wore ski-boots. EMG showed that the mechanical effects of wearing ski-boots were compensated by changes in postural strategy through the reorganization of muscle coordination, made possible by inherent redundancies in the human body. The preservation of postural performances, despite restrictions of ankle degrees-of-freedom induced by ski-boots, emphasizes the subjects' capacity to exploit the additional support provided by ski-boots by adequately adjusting muscle coordination to control posture in different balance conditions.
Lower Limb and Ankle Trauma, a Report to the Joint Coal Board Health and Safety Trust
  • D Smith
  • R Harris
  • D Harris
  • G Truman
  • N Pelham
Smith, D., Harris, R., Harris, D., Truman, G., Pelham, N., 1999. Lower Limb and Ankle Trauma, a Report to the Joint Coal Board Health and Safety Trust. The University of Sydney & Royal Rehabilitation Centre, Sydney.
Investigation into Problems Associated with Work Boots in NSW Mines, Final Report to the Joint Coal Board Health and Safety Trust. Health and Safety Trust
  • S Marr
Marr, S., 1999. Investigation into Problems Associated with Work Boots in NSW Mines, Final Report to the Joint Coal Board Health and Safety Trust. Health and Safety Trust, Sydney.
  • Nsw Workcover
WorkCover NSW, 2010. Statistical Bulletin 2008/09. WorkCover New South Walesviewed 3 March 2013. http://www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/ formspublications/publications/Documents/statistical_bulletin_2008_2009_ 2810.pdf.
Underground Coal Mining Work Boots Do Not Meet the Requirements of Underground Coal Miners
  • J Dobson
  • J Steele
  • D Riddiford-Harland
Dobson, J., Steele, J., Riddiford-Harland, D., 2016. Underground Coal Mining Work Boots Do Not Meet the Requirements of Underground Coal Miners (Unpublished Research).