The effects of toe-only rocker sole shoes on static balance and kinematics during walking in the elderly.

Objectives: The aim of this research was to investigate the effects of toe-only rocker (TOR) sole shoes on standing balance and lower limb kinematics during walking in older adults.

Patients and methods: This quasi-experimental, repeated measure study was conducted between January 2019 and April 2020. Twenty-two elderly participants (14 males, 8 females; mean age: 64.8±0.5 years; range, 60 to 80 years) were tested wearing a normal shoe (NS), four types of TOR sole shoes with different rocker angles (10°, 20°, 30°, and 40°), and barefoot (BF). Static balance and gait kinematics were measured by a force plate and motion capture system, respectively.

Results: No significant difference was found in all static balance parameters between different TOR types. There was no significant difference in hip joint kinematics between different shoe conditions. Significantly lower knee joint range of motion was observed in the BF condition compared to NS, TOR 10°, and TOR 20° (p<0.05); in TOR 40° compared to NS, TOR 10°, and TOR 20° (p<0.05); and in TOR 30° compared to TOR 20° (p<0.05). Greater ankle range of motion was observed with NS compared to TOR 30° and TOR 40° (p<0.001); in BF compared to NS and different TOR types (p<0.05); and in TOR 10° compared to TOR 30° and TOR 40° (p<0.001).

Conclusion: The increasing rocker angle in TOR had no negative effect on static balance in the elderly. Therefore, TOR may be used in healthy elderly to decrease movement in the sagittal plane of the ankle joint without disturbance in static balance.