The effect of minimalist footwear wearing on biomechanical parameters of gait

Abstract

Minimalist footwear represents a footwear-wearing concept that aims to allow a human to move more naturally compared to conventional shoes [1]. There are several assumptions about the benefits of wearing minimalist footwear on human health [1–3], however, studies dealing with walking in minimalist footwear in adults have mainly evaluated their immediate or short-term effects [4–6]. For a better understanding of their effect on human health longitudinal research is needed.This study investigates the effect of 6 months of wearing minimalist footwear on the biomechanical parameters of gait during barefoot walking. What is the effect of 6 months of minimalist footwear wearing on ground reaction force and spatiotemporal parameters of gait in healthy adults during barefoot walking? The research sample consisted of 50 healthy adults divided into experimental and control groups by randomization. Ground reaction force (GRF) and spatiotemporal characteristics (speed, cadence, step length, stance phase duration) of gait were collected at two measurements during barefoot overground walking at a self-selected speed over a walkway with two embedded force platforms Kistler (Kistler, Winterthur, Switzerland) synchronized with a kinematic system Vicon Vantage V5 (Vicon Motion System, London, United Kingdom). The intervention period between the two measurements lasted 6 months. During this period, the experimental group wore minimalist footwear in the recommended, progressively increasing volume between the measurements. The minimalist footwear chosen for intervention was footwear Chitra bare (Walk free, s.r.o., Prague, Czech Republic). Intervention and group effect was detected by repeated measures ANOVA. Slightly, but no significant increase in speed and cadence of the experimental group after the intervention period was found. In other observed spatiotemporal parameters and conditions, no significant differences were found. A significant increase (p = 0.042) in the first peak of mediolateral GRF for the left foot was found in the experimental group after the intervention. No other significant differences in the magnitude of GRF were found. No significant differences were found in peak achievement in all components of GRF relative to the % of the stance phase of gait. Walking in minimalist footwear approximates barefoot walking in selected biomechanical parameters more than walking in conventional shoes [5–8]. Following the results of these studies, we hypothesize that prolonged walking in minimalist footwear may result in changes in gait patterns that should be similar to barefoot walking. The gait of habitually unshod walkers is characterized, e.g., by decreased step length, increased cadence, or decreased magnitude of the first peak vertical GRF compared to habitually shod walkers [9]. These findings are not consistent with ours. One of the possible explanations may be that 6 months of minimalist footwear wearing is a short period to create or produce changes in walking pattern that changes in selected biomechanical parameters would reflect.