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The effect of support surface and footwear condition on postural sway and lower limb muscle action of the older women.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Diminished somatosensory function is a critical age-related change which is related to postural instability in the older population. Footwear is a cost-effective way to modulate the postural stability by altering sensorimotor inputs via mechanoreceptors on the plantar surface of the feet. Compared to insoles with indentions in the entire surface, we innovatively developed a textured insole with site-specific nodulous protrudous. This study thus aimed to investigate the immediate effect of the nodulous insole and supporting surface condition on static postural stability and lower limb muscle activation for healthy older women. METHODS:This is a single-session study with repeated measurements. Twenty-three healthy older women stood on the firm (i.e., concrete floor) and foam surfaces with their eyes open in the three footwear conditions, namely barefoot, plain shoes and shoes with an innovative textured insole, for 30 seconds. Static postural sway and muscle activation of biceps femoris (BF), vastus lateralis (VL), tibialis anterior (TA), and lateral gastrocnemius (LG) of the dominant leg were measured during each testing condition. RESULTS:Compared to a firm surface, standing on the foam could significantly increase the body sway and lower limb muscle activation (p<0.05). When standing on the foam, compared to barefoot, wearing footwear significantly decreased the VL and TA muscle activation and minimize the postural sway in medial-lateral and anterior-posterior direction, while the influence is larger for the shoes with nodulous insloe compared to the plain shoes. No significant differences between the footwear conditions for static stability and muscle activation were observed on firm surface condition. CONCLUSIONS:For older women, footwear could improve the postural stability in the unstable surface, particularly the footwear with nodulous insole, with the underlying mechanism as enhancing the mechanoreceptors on the plantar surface of the feet.

SUBMITTER: Huang M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7269262 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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The effect of support surface and footwear condition on postural sway and lower limb muscle action of the older women.

Huang Meizhen M Yick Kit-Lun KL Ng Sun-Pui SP Yip Joanne J Cheung Roy Tsz-Hei RT

PloS one 20200603 6

<h4>Background</h4>Diminished somatosensory function is a critical age-related change which is related to postural instability in the older population. Footwear is a cost-effective way to modulate the postural stability by altering sensorimotor inputs via mechanoreceptors on the plantar surface of the feet. Compared to insoles with indentions in the entire surface, we innovatively developed a textured insole with site-specific nodulous protrudous. This study thus aimed to investigate the immedia ...[more]

PMID: 32492058

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Project description:BackgroundBiomechanical factors may play a role in osteoarthritis (OA) development and progression. Previous biomechanical studies have indicated that types of footwear may modulate forces across the knee joint, and high heeled womens' shoes in particular are hypothesised to be detrimental to lower limb joint health. This analysis of data from a case control study investigated persistent users of different adult footwear for risks of knee and hip OA. Our underlying hypotheses were that high heeled, narrow heeled, and hard soled shoe types were putative risk factors for lower limb OA.MethodsData on footwear were initially obtained from participants during the Genetics of Osteoarthritis and Lifestyle (GOAL) hospital-based, case control study using standardised interview-delivered questionnaires. An additional questionnaire was later sent to GOAL study participants to verify findings and to further investigate specific shoe use per decade of life. Persistent users of footwear types (high or narrow heel; sole thickness or hardness) were identified from early adulthood. Participants were grouped into single sex knee OA, hip OA or control groups. Adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated.ResultsUnivariate analysis of persistent users of women's high heeled and narrow heeled shoes during early adulthood showed negative associations with knee OA and hip OA. After logistic regression, persistent narrow heel users were associated with less risk of OA (knee OA aOR 0.59, 95% CI 0.35 - 1.00 and hip aOR: 0.50, 95% CI 0.30 - 0.85), and other analyses were not statistically significant. Further analysis suggested that women with hip OA may have stopped wearing high and narrow heeled footwear to attenuate hip pain in early adulthood. Consistent associations between shoe soles and OA were not found.ConclusionsIn general, persistent users of high and narrow heeled shoes during early adulthood had a negative association with knee or hip OA. This does not necessarily imply a causal relationship, as changing footwear during early adulthood to modulate index joint pain may provide a possible explanation. Despite the findings of previous biomechanical studies of high heels, we did not find a positive association between women's shoes and lower limb osteoarthritis.

Dataset Information

The effect of support surface and footwear condition on postural sway and lower limb muscle action of the older women.

Publications

The effect of support surface and footwear condition on postural sway and lower limb muscle action of the older women.

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