TY - JOUR
T1 - A Randomized Comparison of the Biomechanical Effect of Two Commercially Available Rocker Bottom Shoes to a Conventional Athletic Shoe During Walking in Healthy Individuals
AU - Talaty, Mukul
AU - Patel, Sona
AU - Esquenazi, Alberto
N1 - Funding Information:
Financial Disclosure: Partial funding was provided by the Schachter, Hendy & Johnson PSC research fund.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons
PY - 2016/7/1
Y1 - 2016/7/1
N2 - Rocker bottom shoes have recently gained considerable popularity, likely in part because of the many purported benefits, including reducing joint loading and toning muscles. Scientific inquiry about these benefits has not kept pace with the increased usage of this shoe type. A fundamental premise of rocker bottom shoes is that they transform hard, flat, level surfaces into more uneven ones. Published studies have described a variety of such shoes—all having a somewhat rounded bottom and a cut heel region or a cut forefoot region, or both (double rocker). Despite the fundamentally similar shoe geometries, the reported effects of rocker bottom shoes on gait biomechanics have varied considerably. Ten healthy subjects agreed to participate in the present study and were given appropriately sized Masai Barefoot Technology (St. Louis, MO), Skechers™ (Manhattan Beach, CA), and New Balance (Boston, MA) conventional walking shoes. After a 12-day accommodation period, the subjects walked wearing each shoe while 3-dimensional motion and force data were collected in the gait laboratory. The key findings included (1) increased trunk flexion, decreased ankle plantarflexion range, and reduced plantarflexion moment in the early stance; (2) increased ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexor moment in the midstance; (3) decreased peak ankle plantarflexion in the late stance; and (4) decreased ankle plantarflexion and decreased hip flexor and knee extensor moments in the pre-swing and into swing phase. The walking speed was unconstrained and was maintained across all shoe types. A biomechanical explanation is suggested for the observed changes. Suggestions for cautions are provided for using rocker bottom shoes in patients with neuromuscular insufficiency.
AB - Rocker bottom shoes have recently gained considerable popularity, likely in part because of the many purported benefits, including reducing joint loading and toning muscles. Scientific inquiry about these benefits has not kept pace with the increased usage of this shoe type. A fundamental premise of rocker bottom shoes is that they transform hard, flat, level surfaces into more uneven ones. Published studies have described a variety of such shoes—all having a somewhat rounded bottom and a cut heel region or a cut forefoot region, or both (double rocker). Despite the fundamentally similar shoe geometries, the reported effects of rocker bottom shoes on gait biomechanics have varied considerably. Ten healthy subjects agreed to participate in the present study and were given appropriately sized Masai Barefoot Technology (St. Louis, MO), Skechers™ (Manhattan Beach, CA), and New Balance (Boston, MA) conventional walking shoes. After a 12-day accommodation period, the subjects walked wearing each shoe while 3-dimensional motion and force data were collected in the gait laboratory. The key findings included (1) increased trunk flexion, decreased ankle plantarflexion range, and reduced plantarflexion moment in the early stance; (2) increased ankle dorsiflexion and knee flexor moment in the midstance; (3) decreased peak ankle plantarflexion in the late stance; and (4) decreased ankle plantarflexion and decreased hip flexor and knee extensor moments in the pre-swing and into swing phase. The walking speed was unconstrained and was maintained across all shoe types. A biomechanical explanation is suggested for the observed changes. Suggestions for cautions are provided for using rocker bottom shoes in patients with neuromuscular insufficiency.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84964374732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84964374732&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1053/j.jfas.2016.03.008
DO - 10.1053/j.jfas.2016.03.008
M3 - Article
C2 - 27079303
AN - SCOPUS:84964374732
SN - 1067-2516
VL - 55
SP - 772
EP - 776
JO - Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery
JF - Journal of Foot and Ankle Surgery
IS - 4
ER -