Charles Kent Wilson’s research while affiliated with Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and other places

This experiment, conducted with the cooperation of 30 healthy university students, was a comparative study of how dynamic balance is affected by various types of footwear on an immobilized foot-ankle joint. Results indicated an increase of muscular exertion related to control of posture when the foot-ankle joint was immobilized. When various shock absorption materials were used, extended latency was evident and when the bottom surface of the foot was stimulated, as by the protuberances of the "health-sandals" type of footwear, increased cerebrum skin perception was noted. In light of these indicators we had anticipated a faster reaction time, but in fact, delayed reaction time and reduced reaction strength were recognized in direct relation to height of heel and between various materials and types of footwear. The present experiments are indicative of the very close relation between afferent information from proprioceptors - in particular, the sole nerve endings and the muscle spindles in adjacent regions - and the nervous system nuclei which process it. In closing, we remark that these experiments serve to demonstrate that certain commonly worn footwear, such as slippers, are surprisingly hazardous insofar as they slow down reactions and their stimulation of the soles has adverse effects on posture reactions. Going barefoot would therefore appear the best, as indeed the most natural, way to maintain steady posture. Alternatively, use of footwear with thin soles that have only low absorption of dynamic shock may be advised.