Skip to main navigation menu Skip to main content Skip to site footer
##common.pageHeaderLogo.altText##

Original article

Vol. 141 No. 1516 (2011)

Effects of a new unstable sandal construction on measures of postural control and muscle activity in women

  • U Granacher
  • R Roth
  • T Muehlbauer
  • T Laser
  • K Steinbrueck
DOI
https://doi.org/10.4414/smw.2011.13182
Cite this as:
Swiss Med Wkly. 2011;141:w13182
Published
11.04.2011

Summary

BACKGROUND: It is well established that unstable shoe constructions with rounded soles have the potential to induce acute and long-term effects on muscle activity during standing and walking. However, it is unresolved whether functional footwear with regularly shaped soles may have similar effects.

OBJECTIVE: Thus, the objective of this study was to compare measures of postural control and muscle activity during quiet standing and locomotion for women using a new sandal construction with an unstable element integrated into the sole of the shoe (Biodyn sandal), a conventional stable control sandal, and a barefoot condition.

METHODS: Twenty-two healthy women between the ages of 30 and 50 years participated in this study. During standing, sway area was analysed in monopedal and bipedal stance by means of a computerised balance platform. During walking, temporal and spatial stride-to-stride variability was determined using a pressure-sensitive treadmill. Surface electromyography data of lower leg muscles was simultaneously collected during stance and walk tests.

RESULTS: With the Biodyn sandal, significantly larger sway area during bipedal stance (p <.05) and greater step width variability during walking (p <.01) were observed compared to the barefoot condition. During standing and walking, higher activity of muscles encompassing the ankle joint was found for the Biodyn sandal compared to the control sandal (all p ≤.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The Biodyn sandal produced postural instability during standing and walking which was associated with higher lower extremity muscle activations. These findings suggest that standing and walking in the Biodyn sandal could have implications for both challenging the postural control system during activities of daily living, as well as strengthening and conditioning lower extremity muscles.

References

  1. Granacher U, Muehlbauer T, Gollhofer A, Kressig RW, Zahner L. An Intergenerational Approach in the Promotion of Balance and Strength for Fall Prevention - A Mini-Review. Gerontology. 2010; Epub ahead of print.
  2. Era P, Sainio P, Koskinen S, Haavisto P, Vaara M, Aromaa A. Postural balance in a random sample of 7,979 subjects aged 30 years and over. Gerontology. 2006;52(4):204–13.
  3. Wang HK, Chen CH, Shiang TY, Jan MH, Lin KH. Risk-factor analysis of high school basketball-player ankle injuries: a prospective controlled cohort study evaluating postural sway, ankle strength, and flexibility. Arch Phys Med Rehabil. 2006;87(6):821–5.
  4. Tropp H, Ekstrand J, Gillquist J. Stabilometry in functional instability of the ankle and its value in predicting injury. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1984;16(1):64–6.
  5. Verghese J, Buschke H, Viola L, Katz M, Hall C, Kuslansky G, Lipton R. Validity of divided attention tasks in predicting falls in older individuals: a preliminary study. J Am Geriatr Soc. 2002;50(9):1572–6.
  6. Maki BE, Holliday PJ, Topper AK. A prospective study of postural balance and risk of falling in an ambulatory and independent elderly population. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 1994;49(2):72–84.
  7. Talbot LA, Musiol RJ, Witham EK, Metter EJ. Falls in young, middle-aged and older community dwelling adults: perceived cause, environmental factors and injury. BMC Public Health. 2005;5:86.
  8. Kahl H, Dortschy R, Ellsasser G. Injuries among children and adolescents (1–17 years) and implementation of safety measures. Results of the nationwide German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS). Bundesgesundheitsblatt-Gesundheitsforschung-Gesundheitsschutz. 2007;50(5-6):718–27.
  9. Schneider S, Weidmann C, Seither B. Epidemiology and risk factors of sports injuries--multivariate analyses using German national data. Int J Sports Med. 2007;28(3):247–52.
  10. Barnett A, Smith B, Lord SR, Williams M, Baumand A. Community-based group exercise improves balance and reduces falls in at-risk older people: a randomised controlled trial. Age Ageing. 2003;32(4):407–14.
  11. Clemson L, Singh MF, Bundy A, Cumming RG, Weissel E, Munro J, Manollaras K, Black D. LiFE Pilot Study: A randomised trial of balance and strength training embedded in daily life activity to reduce falls in older adults. Aust Occup Ther J. 2010;57(1):42–50.
  12. Granacher U, Muehlbauer T, Taube W, Gollhofer A, Gruber M. Sensorimotor training. In Cardinale M, ed. Strength and conditioning: Biological principles and practical applications. San Francisco: Wiley; 2011, pp 399–409.
  13. Wahl MJ, Behm DG. Not all instability training devices enhance muscle activation in highly resistance-trained individuals. J Strength Cond Res. 2008;22(4):1360–70.
  14. Nigg B, Hintzen S, Ferber R. Effect of an unstable shoe construction on lower extremity gait characteristics. Clin Biomech. 2006;21(1):82–8.
  15. Landry SC, Nigg BM, Tecante KE. Standing in an unstable shoe increases postural sway and muscle activity of selected smaller extrinsic foot muscles. Gait Posture. 2010;32(2):215–9.
  16. Romkes J, Rudmann C, Brunner R. Changes in gait and EMG when walking with the Masai Barefoot Technique. Clin Biomech. 2006;21(1):75–81.
  17. Korsten K, Mornieux G, Walter N, Gollhofer A. Gibt es Alternativen zum sensomotorischen Training? Schweiz Z Sportmed. 2008;56(4):150–5.
  18. Kapteyn TS, Bles W, Njiokiktjien CJ, Kodde L, Massen CH, Mol JM. Standardization in platform stabilometry being a part of posturography. Agressologie 1983;24(7):321–6.
  19. Coren S. The lateral preference inventory for measurement of handedness, footedness, eyedness, and earedness: Norms for young adults. Bull Psych Soc. 1993;31(1):1–3.
  20. Owings TM, Grabiner MD. Measuring step kinematic variability on an instrumented treadmill: how many steps are enough? J Biomech. 2003;36(8):1215–8.
  21. Huxham F, Gong J, Baker R, Morris M, Iansek R. Defining spatial parameters for non-linear walking. Gait Posture. 2006;23(2):159–63.
  22. Kressig RW, Beauchet O. Guidelines for clinical applications of spatio-temporal gait analysis in older adults. Aging Clin Exp Res. 2006;18(2):174–6.
  23. Hermens HJ, Freriks B, Merletti R, Stegeman DF, Blok J, Rau G, et al. European recommendations for surface electromyography: results of the SENIAM project. Roessingh Research and Development bv; 1999.
  24. Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang AG, Buchner A. G*Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods. 2007;39(2):175–91.
  25. Romkes J. Statische Gleichgewichtskontrolle mit dem MBT-Schuh. Schweiz Z Sportmed. 2008;56(2):61–5.
  26. Owings TM, Grabiner MD. Variability of step kinematics in young and older adults. Gait Posture. 2004;20(1):26–9.
  27. Owings TM, Grabiner MD. Step width variability, but not step length variability or step time variability, discriminates gait of healthy young and older adults during treadmill locomotion. J Biomech. 2004;37(6):935–8.
  28. Stoggl T, Haudum A, Birklbauer J, Murrer M, Muller E. Short and long term adaptation of variability during walking using unstable (Mbt) shoes. Clin Biomech. 2010;25(8):816–22.
  29. Nigg B. Biomechanical considerations on barefoot movements and barefoot shoe concepts. Footwear Sci. 2009;1(2):73–9.
  30. Ramstrand N, Thuesen AH, Nielsen DB, Rusaw D. Effects of an unstable shoe construction on balance in women aged over 50 years. Clin Biomech. 2010;25(5):455–60.
  31. Ramstrand N, Andersson CB, Rusaw D. Effects of an unstable shoe construction on standing balance in children with developmental disabilities: a pilot study. Prosthet Orthot Int. 2008;32(4):422–33.