Objective

The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of indoor footwear with a textured surface to improve control of balance and reduce excessive plantar pressure in older women.

Background

Balance instability is a common condition in older people. Textured insoles with protrusions on the entire insole have been examined for enhancing somatosensory feedback in the elderly to improve control over balance. However, these insoles have significant challenges in distributing the plantar pressure. Textured insoles with tailored protrusions should be therefore investigated for the same purpose but provide better plantar pressure distribution.

Method

A total of 24 older women have undergone both static standing and walking tests with the use of the in-shoe Pedar® system.

Results

The results indicate that wearing textured indoor footwear provides a significant reduction in postural sway, particularly in the medial–lateral direction during walking. As compared to walking barefoot, the center-of-pressure trajectory when wearing the textured indoor footwear remains supported with less variance among the steps, which is statistically significant in the medial–lateral direction. A significant reduction in the peak pressure is found in the forefoot and rearfoot regions as the plantar pressure is redistributed to the midfoot regions.

Conclusion

The textured surface of the insole improves balance control of older women and effectively reduces foot pressure at high pressure areas.

Application

The findings enhance current understanding on textured footwear as a form of intervention associated with changes in functional impairments, therefore providing basis for footwear design in balance control.